Lisa Harmony issued a warning to Donald Trump while standing outside her small grocery store in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood of Allentown, Pennsylvania, one of the cities that will play a crucial role in next week’s US election.
Two days after a right-wing comedian at a massive Trump rally in New York City referred to Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean Sea, as an “island of garbage,” Harmony predicted severe repercussions for the former president.
“I think he’s going to lose a lot of votes because of that. Definitely a lot of the Latino population,” Harmony stated.
Pennsylvania, the largest battleground state and the most sought-after prize in the White House race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, is home to nearly 500,000 Puerto Ricans. As US citizens, the adults in this community have the right to vote.
While Trump has made some inroads among Hispanic voters — particularly men — the racist remarks made at the rally on Sunday are jeopardizing his progress at the last minute in places like Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley.
“I have some friends that got offended,” said James, a 35-year-old Puerto Rican who works at a barber shop in downtown Allentown, just a few blocks away from a venue where Trump was scheduled to hold a rally on Tuesday. “They took it to the heart right away.”
James, a 35-year-old Puerto Rican, mentioned that he still intends to vote for Donald Trump.
James, who declined to provide his last name, said he would still vote for Trump. But he was “absolutely” concerned that the insults about Puerto Rico would sway votes from others in the community.
The Trump campaign distanced itself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s insults at Madison Square Garden, claiming they did not reflect the “values” of the former president. However, Trump has not personally apologized for it, as some members of the Puerto Rican community in Allentown have been demanding.
Instead, speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday before flying to Pennsylvania, he referred to the New York rally as a “lovefest.”
Democrats in Pennsylvania have swiftly capitalized on the outrage in an attempt to secure additional votes in the final stretch of the race, claiming that the attack on Puerto Rico is resonating.
“It’s broken through like very few things in this campaign,” stated Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania senator, during a separate event in Allentown on Tuesday.
Susan Wild, the local Democratic congresswoman, said the contest between Trump and Harris would likely be “determined” in her district and noted that her phone had been inundated with expressions of outrage.
“So many people in the Puerto Rican community who know me, who have my phone number, who know that I traveled to the island on official business have just been really dismayed that President Trump did not come out and say something about this comedian’s comments,” Wild said.
However, there may be limitations to the Democrats’ ability to capitalize on the comedian’s remarks.
Despite the recent media frenzy, some residents were unaware of the events at the Madison Square Garden rally. Others simply dismissed it.
Elisa Rivera, a 24-year-old Puerto Rican Trump supporter, stated that she plans to vote for him “because he was very good when he was in office” on economic and immigration matters. While she was unaware of the comedian’s mockery of Puerto Rico, Rivera mentioned seeing a meme on Facebook portraying “Kamala was on the toilet and Trump flushed her down.”
Fred Younes, a Syrian-American working at the local corner store adorned with a Puerto Rican flag in the window, indicated that people in the area would not be too perturbed and that he would continue to support Trump.
“The adage says ‘sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me’,” he said.
Nevertheless, Harris — who gained the support of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny immediately following the remark — has leveraged the uproar to emphasize one of her final arguments in the campaign: that Trump lacks the character to lead the country.
Aside from the racist quip about Puerto Rico, the opening acts for the Trump event in New York on Sunday included other vulgar and racist remarks about minorities.
“She is delivering solutions and Trump is sowing division and hate. We are definitely seeing added support coming our way,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Harris campaign chair, told reporters on Tuesday.
Some Hispanic voters who were not from Puerto Rico expressed solidarity with the community. Juan Ramirez, a 73-year-old Dominican-American in Allentown who supports Harris, described the comedian’s comments as “disgusting.”
Juan Diego Barreto, who is Mexican-American, stated that he was also supporting Harris. “Whether it was a joke or not, it was very bad,” he said.
Clara González, a 28-year-old Puerto Rican, stated that she was supporting Harris due to her social policies and commitment to protecting abortion rights. However, she deemed the derogatory remarks about Puerto Rico at the Trump rally as “disrespectful.”
She added: “We all live in America at the end of the day and we all have respect for our country. And Puerto Rico is part of the United States.”
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