Musician Bad Bunny threw his support behind Vice-President Kamala Harris on Sunday by sharing a video of the Democratic presidential nominee shortly after a comedian at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” angering artists and some Hispanic Republicans.
The comments on Puerto Rico by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe were immediately criticized by Harris’s campaign, but were also called out by Angel Cintron, the head of the Republican Party on the island, and Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents parts of Miami and has participated in recent Trump events.
Later, Hinchcliffe said “these Latinos, they love making babies” and said they don’t use the pull-out birth control method.
Salazar wrote: “Disgusted by @TonyHinchcliffe’s racist comment calling Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’ This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values. Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”
In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
Responding to a Harris campaign post that showed a video of vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz criticizing the routine, Hinchcliffe appeared to double down, posting that “these people have no sense of humour.”
“Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist,” Hinchcliffe posted. “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”
Hurricane response still lingers
Democratic House member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, born in New York to Puerto Ricans, lashed out at Hinchcliffe’s account in a series of posts on X, and urged “every Boricua on here to take that rally clip and drop it in your family WhatsApps and group chats,” using the term Puerto Ricans call themselves.
In another post, Ocasio-Cortez referenced the controversial response of the Trump administration to Hurricane Maria in 2017.
A year after the storm, public health experts estimated nearly 3,000 perished in Puerto Rico because of the effects of Hurricane Maria. But Trump, whose efforts to help the island territory’s recovery have been persistently criticized, repeatedly questioned that number, saying it rose “like magic.”
His visit to the island after the hurricane elicited controversy, such as when he tossed paper towels to residents. Years later, his administration released $13 billion US in assistance, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election. A federal government watchdog found that officials hampered an investigation into delays in aid delivery.
There are about 5.9 million people of Puerto Rican origin in the United States, according to Pew Research Center. While many are in Florida and New York — neither considered to be a swing state in next week’s presidential vote — key states Pennsylvania and North Carolina have six-figure populations of residents who trace their origins to Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Hispanic population overall reached 63.6 million in 2022, up from 50.5 million in 2010, according to Pew.
Voters in seven swing states will determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November. Andrew Chang breaks down each of the states in play for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and their pathways to 270 electoral college votes.
Harris visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in North Philadelphia earlier on Sunday and released her policy related to the island, saying she wants to create a task force to attract investment to fix the electrical grid. Trump is headed on Tuesday to Allentown, Pa., where more than half of its population is Hispanic and a majority of them are from Puerto Rico.
Bad Bunny, whose official name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, shared a video to his 45 million Instagram followers that shows Harris saying “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico.” A representative of the artist confirmed that Bad Bunny is supporting Harris.
‘Not OK with this constant hate’
The 30-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton artist, who has popular songs such as Dakiti and Titi Me Pregunto, has won three Grammy Awards. In 2020, he allowed the Biden campaign to use one of his hits in a TV ad.
Bad Bunny has been vocal about criticizing Puerto Rico’s electric system, which was razed by Hurricane Maria. In a 2022 music video for his song El Apagon, the artist called out the company Luma Energy — which handles transmission and distribution and has been partially owned by Calgary’s ATCO Ltd. — for the constant power outages that plague the island.
Bad Bunny also shared a part of the clip showing Harris saying that Trump “abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”
Luis Fonsi, a Puerto Rican artist who sings the hit Despacito, went on Instagram and wrote “going down this racist path ain’t it.”
“We are not OK with this constant hate,” he wrote in a message shared on Instagram. “It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us.”
CNN senior political data reporter Harry Enten says he’s never seen a U.S. election race tighter than the one between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Ricky Martin, who had previously endorsed Harris, was also offended by the comment and said “that’s what they think of us” on Instagram.
Other Puerto Rican singers, such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, had already expressed support for Harris. Trump has attracted support from other popular stars from the island such as Anuel AA and Nicky Jam.