TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Fiery fallout was heard on Monday from Florida Latinos after racist jokes and hate-filled rhetoric were said during a former President Donald Trump rally Sunday night in New York.
According to the University of California, Florida has the largest population of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. compared to the other 49 states. The total is about 1.2 million. Now, many are wondering if it’ll have an impact on the presidential race this November — which some pundits consider a coin flip.
It was roast comic Tony Hinchcliffe that captured the ire of Democrats, moderates and some Republicans. Ahead of Trump’s Madison Square Garden speech, Hinchcliffe cracked jokes targeting Jews, Black men, Latinos and Puerto Ricans.
“Where are my proud Latinos at tonight,” he said. “You guys see what I mean? [The border] is wide open. There’s so many of them.”
A short time later, Hinchcliffe doubled down.
“I don’t know if you guys know this — but there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” said the comic. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The blowback from Democratic and nonpartisan Latino and Hispanic groups has been furious. Many blamed Trump and his campaign for letting Hinchcliffe speak.
“It's everybody's country, you know,” said Rolando Barrero with the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida. “It is not one of the vision and disdain like he would want it to be.”
“It's just more of this racism,” said U.S Rep. Darren Soto in Florida’s 9th District. “More of this fascism, of attacking minorities as vermin, as nonhuman.”
“Now you're attacking our brothers and sisters from Puerto Rico, who are American citizens,” said State Rep. Susan Valdes (D-Tampa). “When will it stop? When is enough enough?”
They’re not alone. A few Florida Republicans joined in the outrage. U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez in Florida’s 28th District, U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar in Florida’s 28th District and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott all posted comments on social media.
Scott is locked in a potentially close reelection, according to new polling, that has him up three points over Debbie Mucarsel Powell. The former Democratic congresswoman wasted little time Monday firing off an attack over the comedian’s controversial comments.
“Last night at Donald Trump's rally, we saw the continuation of extreme and disgusting rhetoric that him and people like Rick Scott have continued to push this entire time,” Mucarsel-Powell said.
Trump's campaign has since distanced itself from Hinchcliffe, saying in a statement the Puerto Rican “joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” That’s as others have said the comments weren’t vetted ahead of time, despite the use of a teleprompter.
“They can deny that they missed it all they want, but there is a very, very small chance that they missed it,” said Professor Josh Scacco, who teaches and studies political communication at the University of South Florida.
Scacco said high-profile events like Trump’s NYC rally are almost always heavily choreographed and vetted. The professor warned it could have a noticeable impact on the race.
“Now the Trump campaign is off message in the final week when it's trying to mobilize its base and reach out to undecided voters,” Scacco said. “And it is potentially alienated groups of voters that could matter in several of the swing States, including in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.”
Not to mention Florida, where the comments could impact that seemingly tight Senate competition.
New reporting from the Bulwark’s Marc Caputo also suggests Hinchcliffe wanted to go further in his speech. Verified by "four top campaign sources,” the comedian “had a joke calling [Vice President Kamala] Harris a ‘c*nt.’” Caputo reports the line was cut from the speech, and that Hinchcliffe’s other jokes were missed because he had "ad-libbed” them.
Trump is scheduled to give the press “remarks” at his Palm Beach home on Tuesday. The topic remains unclear— but he’s likely to be asked about the comedian controversy.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
