Trump calls Madison Square Garden rally a ‘love fest’; The Hill, October 29, 2024

 BRETT SAMUELS , The Hill; Trump calls Madison Square Garden rally a ‘love fest’

"Former President Trump on Tuesday described a Madison Square Garden rally that was marked by racist and sexist comments as a “love fest.”

“There was love in the room. The love in that room was breathtaking,” Trump said in remarks from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

“It was like a love fest. An absolute love fest,” he added, scoffing at critics who likened the rally to a 1939 Nazi event at the arena.

Trump did not address the backlash to comments made by other speakers at the New York City rally, including comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke comparing Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” has caused a firestorm, including with some Latino voters."

Trump’s Puerto Rico fallout is ‘spreading like wildfire’ in Pennsylvania; Politico, October 28, 2024

MEREDITH LEE HILL, MIA MCCARTHY and HOLLY OTTERBEIN , Politico; Trump’s Puerto Rico fallout is ‘spreading like wildfire’ in Pennsylvania

"Donald Trump has a serious Puerto Rico problem — in Pennsylvania.

Many Puerto Rican voters in the state are furious about racist and demeaning comments delivered at a Trump rally. Some say their dismay is giving Kamala Harris a new opening to win over the state’s Latino voters, particularly nearly half a million Pennsylvanians of Puerto Rican descent.

Evidence of the backlash was immediate on Monday: A nonpartisan Puerto Rican group drafted a letter urging its members to oppose Trump on election day. Other Puerto Rican voters were lighting up WhatsApp chats with reactions to the vulgar display and raising it in morning conversations at their bodegas. Some are planning to protest Trump’s rally Tuesday in Allentown, a majority-Latino city with one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the state.

And the arena Trump is speaking at is located in the middle of the city’s Puerto Rican neighborhood.

“It’s spreading like wildfire through the community,” said Norberto Dominguez, a precinct captain with the local Democratic party in Allentown, who noted his own family is half Republican and half Democratic voters.

“It’s not the smartest thing to do, to insult people — a large group of voters here in a swing state — and then go to their home asking for votes,” Dominguez said.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Trump."

US politicians, celebrities blast Trump-allied comedian for calling Puerto Rico 'garbage'; Reuters, October 28, 2024

Gram Slattery,  Helen Coster and Alexandra Ulmer, Reuters; US politicians, celebrities blast Trump-allied comedian for calling Puerto Rico 'garbage'

"Ed Rosa, 60, a New York resident whose parents were born in Puerto Rico and who attended a Trump rally in May, said he had been planning to vote for Trump, but will now sit the election out after Hinchcliffe's comments. He has removed the Trump campaign signs he had placed in the windows and yard of his North Bronx home.

"It wasn't funny at all," said Rosa. "I really believe it was racist. And I was a very strong supporter of Trump until yesterday."

Americans of Puerto Rican origin or ancestry are an important demographic in some of the competitive swing states that will likely decide the winner of the Nov. 5 election, including Pennsylvania. Both candidates are fighting for the Latino vote, which has trended more Republican in recent years but still leans Democratic.

In a video posted on X on Sunday, Harris reacted directly to Hinchcliffe's comments saying, "Puerto Rico is home to some of the most talented, innovative and ambitious people in our nation.""

Trump’s Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults; AP, October 28, 2024

JILL COLVIN AND MICHELLE L. PRICE, AP; Trump’s Madison Square Garden event features crude and racist insults

"Donald Trump hosted a rally featuring crude and racist insults at New York’s Madison Square Garden, turning what his campaign had dubbed as the event where he would deliver his closing message into an illustration of what turns off his critics.

With just over a week before Election Day, speakers at the rally Sunday night labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris “the devil,” and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute."

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin Show Support for Kamala Harris After Comedian Insults Puerto Rico at Trump Rally; The Hollywood Reporter, October 27, 2024

Kimberly Nordyke , The Hollywood Reporter; 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 Harrison 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.

“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."