Puerto Rico Speaker’s Comments at Trump Rally Draw Criticism, While Harris’ Island Plan Gets Bad Bunny Backing

Nine days before Election Day, Puerto Rico is the focus of both campaigns. Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a plan to help the island, leading to an endorsement from Bad Bunny, while Puerto Rico was called a “floating island of garbage” by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who performed at Rally in support of former President Donald Trump in New York.

In an effort to reach Puerto Rican voters on the U.S. mainland, Harris posted a video on her social media platforms on Sunday pledging to create a Puerto Rican task force to create jobs, cut red tape to ensure disaster recovery funds are spent quickly and efficiently and work with leaders across the island to ensure Puerto Ricans have access to reliable and affordable electricity.

Rapper and singer Bad Bunny, global superstar from Puerto Ricoshared the vice president’s video on his Instagram account with his 45 million followers and later posted a cut portion of the video in which Harris criticized Trump for his response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.

“I will never forget what Donald Trump did and did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and competent leader,” Harris said in the video. “He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”

In 2017, Trump visited the island to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Maria as a major Category 4 storm. While visiting survivors, the former president once threw paper towels into the crowd while distributing supplies. The move was criticized as callous amid widespread frustration over the federal government’s response to the storm, which left much of the island without power or food.

A source close to Bad Bunny confirmed to CBS News that the Instagram post represented an endorsement of the vice president, breaking with Bad Bunny’s longstanding tradition of not getting involved in national politics. It’s a welcome and powerful endorsement that both political parties have long hoped to gain in order to increase influence with Latino voters, given the global popularity of “Bad Bunny.”

Moments before Bad Bunny’s endorsement, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe took aim at Puerto Rico during a series of disparaging jokes during an appearance on Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.

“I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchcliffe said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Senior Trump adviser Danielle Alvarez told CBS News that “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” adding that the jokes were not reviewed or pre-approved.

Hinchcliffe’s remarks, which also included offensive jokes about blacks and Latinos, were met with swift backlash, with several celebrities speaking out in defense of Puerto Rico, Latinos in the US and voicing their support for Harris’ plan for the island. Among those weighing in were Jennifer Lopez, Ariana DeBose and Ricky Martin. Martin, who has more than 18 million followers, took to Instagram and wrote: “Puerto Rico, that’s what they think of us, vote for Kamala Harris.”

Several Democratic and Republican politicians were also among those who condemned Hinchcliffe’s attacks on Puerto Ricans, who make up a crucial voting group.

Harris’ ally, Gov. Tim Walz, said during a livestream with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “There are hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans living in the battleground states. They need to vote.”

Ocasio-Cortez agreed with Walz and directed her comments at Puerto Ricans in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. “If you’re in Reading, if you’re in Philadelphia, look at this garbage,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to Hinchcliffe’s joke. “What trash is is that people really just think that way about other people.”

Pennsylvania is home to more than 579,000 eligible Latino voters, about 50% of whom live in the “222 Corridor,” a stretch of small towns west and north of Philadelphia, including Reading, Allentown and Bethlehem.

Given that Trump won the Keystone State in 2016 by 44,000 votes and Biden won by 81,000 in 2020, the outcome of the presidential election is again expected to be decided by narrow margins.

Harris spoke directly to Latino voters Sunday during a visit to a local Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia. “When I was in the Senate, knowing that Puerto Rico did not have a senator, I always felt the need and obligation to do everything I could as a senator to ensure that the needs of Puerto Rico were met,” Harris said.

Harris campaign spokesman Kevin Muñoz said in a statement Sunday: “Reminder: Pennsylvania is home to more than 1 million Latinos who are primarily of Puerto Rican descent, and today Vice President Harris campaigned in the heart of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community, saying no not only about her vision for the island, but also about how she will reduce costs and create opportunities in their communities on the mainland.”

Trump is expected to campaign Tuesday in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Latinos make up 54% of the population, most of them of Puerto Rican descent.

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a Trump ally, also condemned Hinchcliffe’s comments.

“This joke caused a sensation for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true,” Scott said. “Puerto Ricans are wonderful people and wonderful Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. This is a wonderful place. Everyone should visit it! “I will always do my best to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”

Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar called the comments “racist.”

Island Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, a Republican running for governor of the island, called the comments “despicable, inappropriate and disgusting.”

Cristina Corujo And

Fin Gomez

contributed to this report.