(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Officials of Puerto Rican heritage are widely criticizing the disparaging jokes a comedian told about Puerto Rico at a Sunday Donald Trump rally in New York City.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
Chicago Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, who is Puerto Rican, said Hinchcliffe’s remarks — and the way the audience at the Trump rally laughed — shows how the former president would treat Puerto Rico if he's re-elected: like trash.
“We are disgusted by it, and may it remind puertorriqueños in Pennsylvania, in Michigan, in Nevada, and all the swing states [and] all over the country that what was said yesterday is a reflection of Donald Trump,” she said. “Puerto Rico deserves the kind of representation that will fight like hell for its self determination and its future.”
The Chicago Democrat said that's why she and other Puerto Rican lawmakers are backing Alianza, an alliance of independent-seeking activists who are now on the ballot in Puerto Rican elections.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said the joke does not represent the former president's views.
Trump, however, is still being criticized for how he handled the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico in 2017. During a visit to the island, Trump 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.
The Associated contributed to this report.
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