The Puerto Rican Vote Takes Centerstage After 'Island of Garbage' Fiasco At Trump Rally

An October surprise has been the norm in the U.S. presidential elections, and this time it might have come in the form of an unforced error from a comedian who decided to chastise Puerto Rico at a much-touted Donald Trump rally.

And in the same way Kamala Harris has relied on celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift to increase her support among their fans, Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico an "Island of Garbage" seems to have galvanized Puerto Rican celebrities to get out and call their supporters to vote for the Democratic candidate.

The Swift Effect

A vocal critic of Donald Trump, Taylor Swift had endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 as well. Many Swifties, as her fans call themselves, have rejected Donald Trump ever since. Acts like buying out all the front-row seat tickets to Trump events and leaving them empty are some examples of how fandom has translated into activism.

After Swift again endorsed Harris in September, approximately 400,000 people clicked on her link to register to vote in the first 24 hours of her post being live. This prompted Trump put out an infamous post on his social media platform Truth Social, stating succinctly in all capital letters, 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!'

The Voto Boricua

Puerto Ricans get birthright citizenship in the U.S., but residents of the island do not have the right to vote directly in the elections. However, those who reside in any of the fifty states are in fact able to vote. With approximately 6 million Boricuas living within the mainland United States, they make up a significant voting block.

This is why Hinchcliffe's comment could be particularly damning for Republicans.

"I don't know if you guys know this, but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico."

Puerto Ricans Are Upset

Hinchcliffe's set backfired quickly: the world's most popular and outspoken Puerto Rican, Bad Bunny, endorsed Harris just hours later. Many Republicans condemned the comment as well, with a spokesperson from the Trump campaign saying it did not reflect its views.

In battleground Pennsylvania, the population of Puerto Ricans is 450,000. Philadelphia, which is the most populous city in the state and the sixth-most populous in the country has the second largest community of Puerto Ricans outside the island besides New York City.

The Trump campaign has given a particular focus on Pennsylvania due to it being the largest battleground state.

Prior to yesterday's rally, Trump generally had a negative reputation among Puerto Ricans due to his response to Hurricane Maria which devastated the country. The former president is accused of blocking aid to the island as well as his infamous clips where he threw paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans when travelling to the island in the aftermath of the hurricane.

In the wake of Hinchcliffe's comments and Bad Bunny's endorsement of Harris, many celebrities and politicians have responded with criticism of Hinchcliffe's set.

Puerto Rican New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was live on Twitch playing games with Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz when Hinchcliffe made his comments and the two Democrats reacted live to his set.

Walz responded with "Who is that jackwad? Who is that guy?" To which Ocasio-Cortez replied, "The thing that is so messed up that I wish more people understood, is that the things that they do in Puerto Rico are a testing ground for the policies and the horrors that they wish ... that they do unveil in working-class communities across the United States. And I need people to understand ... when you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico 'floating garbage,' know that that's what they think about you."

Ocasio-Cortez doubled down on her criticism of Hinchcliffe on her X (formerly Twitter) account replying to Hinchcliffe's defense of his jokes at the rally.

Hinchcliffe wrote "These people have no sense of humor. 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. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone...watch the whole set. I'm a comedian Tim...might be time to change your tampon."

To which Ocasio-Cortez replied: "Can't get over this dude telling someone else to change tampons when he's the one sh-----g bricks in his Depends after realizing opening for a Trump rally and feeding red-meat racism alongside a throng of other bigots to a frothing crowd does, unironically, make you one of them." She also added, "You don't 'love Puerto Rico.' You like drinking piña coladas. There's a difference."

Alongside Ocasio-Cortez, other fellow Puerto Ricans and condemned Hinchcliffe's comments. Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin shared a video of the set on Instagram with the caption, "This is what they think of us." 'Despacito' singer Luis Fonsi also posted the video with the caption "Are you serious? This is so disrespectful!!!" in Spanish as well. The amount of Boricua celebrities coming out to defend the island has been staggering.

The Republican blowback

Republican representatives Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos Gimenez, Anthony D'Esposito, Rick Scott, and Marco Rubio were also quick to criticize Hinchcliffe's comments.