PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Donald Trump's rally in New York Sunday night.
"People were so pissed off last night that some of my friends couldn't sleep. I hope that anger transfers into door knocking, phone calling, getting people rides to the polls,” said Philadelphia councilmember Quetcy Lozada at a news conference Monday condemning the Trump campaign.
Puerto Rican leaders and allies gathered at the HACE Business and Visitors Center in Philadelphia, outraged about the comment.
"Batante ya! Enough is enough folks, ‘cause I've had it. I cannot continue to accept that. I hope that you don't forget ‘cause I won't forget,” said Reading Mayor Eddie Moran. He says Hispanics are passionate voters and this latest controversy should serve as a wake-up call.
"I try to be very politically correct but my level of frustration and disrespect to our community, to my people, to our people, to our familia, is beyond me,” said Moran, who noted this is not the first time the community has been slighted.
In 2017, Trump visited Puerto Rico after Maria slammed into the island as a powerful Category 4 storm. He tossed paper towels into a crowd and denied the storm’s official death toll, with experts estimating that nearly 3,000 people died in the sweltering aftermath.
Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1917, and the first large wave of migration occurred after World War II to ease labor shortages. There are now more Puerto Ricans in the U.S. than on the island.
Philadelphia is home to the second-largest Puerto Rican population in the U.S.
The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the joke, saying it is not a reflection of Trump’s views or that of the campaign.
Lozada said not even a public apology would be accepted at this point.
"Absolutely not! That is something that they are aligned with,” she said. The campaign believes that we are garbage, the campaign has no respect for Latinos!"
In a social media post, Hinchcliffe stated his jokes were taken out of context and that he loves Puerto Rico.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.