Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin Show Support for Kamala Harris After Comedian Insults Puerto Rico at Trump Rally
Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin were among those showing support for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Sunday night after a comedian made a racist joke about Puerto Rico at Donald Trump’s rally on Sunday.
At the rally, which was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden, stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all of whom are key constituencies in the election, which is just nine days away.
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“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe said during the rally.
Hinchcliffe’s joke was immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign as it competes with Trump to win over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states.
Bad Bunny, who hails from Puerto Rico and has 45.6 million followers on Instagram, responded by posting a Story to his account featuring a video of Harris criticizing Trump for his actions in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, which both hit the island in a span of two weeks, leaving devastation in its wake. Thousands of people were killed. A 2021 report by the housing department’s office of the inspector general found that the Trump administration delayed more than $20 billion in hurricane relief aid for Puerto Rico after the disaster.
On his IG Story, Bad Bunny featured a video that Harris had posted to X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the day: “There is so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico,” she says in the video. “And this election is not just a choice between Donald Trump and me. It is a choice between two very different visions for our nation.”
He added a second clip of her video, a portion of which plays three times in his Story: “I will never forget what Donald Trump did, and what he did not do, when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader. He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”
The View co-host Ana Navarro applauded Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio, on X.
“Fuck around and find out,” she posted. “After Trump rally speaker calls Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,’ #BadBunny weighs-in, sharing @KamalaHarris proposal for ???? with his 45 MM followers.”
She ended with a message in Spanish that translated to: “Thanks, Benito. A thousand, a thousand thanks for defending your island and the dignity of your people.”
Lopez, who is Puerto Rican and boasts 250 million Instagram followers, also posted a portion of Harris’ video to her IG Story along with a screenshot of Harris’ plan for helping Puerto Rico.
Fellow Puerto Ricky Martin, who has 18.6 million followers on Instagram, did the same, adding a clip of Hinchcliffe making his joke.
Marc Anthony, who also is Puerto Rican, shared his own message of support for Harris on X, where he as 11 million followers: “I’m here to tell you that even though some have forgotten … I remember. I remember what it was like when Trump was president. I remember what he did and said, about Puerto Rico… About our people … I remember after Hurricane Maria devastated our island… Trump blocked billions in relief … while thousands died. I remember that when our families lacked clean water and electricity, Trump threw paper towels and called Puerto Rico ‘dirty’ and ‘poor.’ But I was not surprised.. Because I ALSO remember… he launched his campaign by calling Latinos criminals and rapists. He’s told us what he’ll do. He’ll separate children from their families and threatened to use the ARMY to do it This election goes way beyond political parties. Now let’s remember what the United States represents and stands for. It’s our name – United. Regardless of where we’re from. I’m Marc Anthony… I remember… And that’s why I support Kamala Harris for President.”
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres also weighed in on X: “As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage. When casting their ballots at the voting booth, Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump seems all too willing to platform.”
Also during the rally, Hinchcliffe made a racist joke about a Black person in the audience, saying he had “carved watermelons” with the audience member.
Meanwhile, Democratic organization Battleground New York released a statement Sunday night about the rally, calling the speeches “a torrent of unhinged crazy, racism and xenophobia.”
“Whether it was targeting Puerto Rico with obscene hate, continuing to claim the 2020 election was stolen, or trying to lay the groundwork to say the same in 2024, this rally was an obscene display of unvarnished bigotry for millions to see,” the group said. “It’s time to turn the page on this era of politics that’s seen abortion bans, kooky conspiracy theories mainstreamed, and an endless stream of nonsense that does nothing to solve problems for working people.”
Navarro and her fellow View host Sunny Hostin also addressed the comment made by Hinchcliffe on Monday’s episode of the ABC talk show.
“This Puerto Rican has something to say about the island that I love, where my family is from. Puerto Rico is trash? We are Americans, Donald Trump, Americans,” Hostin said, to applause. “We volunteer disproportionately high in the military while you have bone spurs. And we vote. … We vote Donald Trump. Trash? And by the way, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi and Marc Anthony have more than 345 million followers on Instagram. I think you only have 26 million, since you care so much about size. And we don’t like what was said about Puerto Rico, and we know how to take the trash out, Donald Trump. Trash that has been collecting since 2016, and that’s you Donald Trump. And finally, my fellow Puerto Ricans, trash collection day is Nov. 5, 2024. Don’t forget it.”
“This comedian [was] handpicked, chosen, vetted by the Trump campaign because he reflects what Trump has said his entire lifetime,”
Navarro, who is Nicaraguan, also shared more of her thoughts after Hostin: “I’m going to say this particularly to my Latino community: If Trump asking for the death penalty for five young men of color, Black and Latino, the Exonerated Five, wasn’t enough for you; if Trump getting investigated for refusing to rent to Black people, wasn’t enough for you; if Trump promoting a racist trope against the first Black president with the birther-ism [bleeped] wasn’t enough for you; if calling Mexicans rapists and criminals and bad hombres wasn’t enough for you; if Trump calling us vermin, invaders, people who poison the blood of this country wasn’t enough for you; if Trump throwing paper towels at people in need after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, wasn’t enough for you; if Trump saying immigrants have made this country into the trash can of world wasn’t enough for you; then maybe, just maybe, this comedian, hand-picked, chosen, vetted by the Trump campaign because he reflects what Trump has said his entire life, maybe that will be enough for you. And on Nov. 5, I want you to vote for your heritage and your tradition and your identity. I want you to vote with dignity and self-respect.”
She continued: “This comedian, he talked 32 minutes into this rally. Donald Trump showed up … four hours and 52 minutes into this rally, so he had over four hours to come out there and condemn these comments, to distance himself. He did not do it.”
Updated Monday, Oct. 28, 10:48 a.m.: Added Hostin’s and Navarro’s remarks from Monday’s edition of The View.
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