Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign wasted no time in capitalizing after a comedian at a rally for former President Trump called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
The ad, released Monday, comes one day after Tony Hinchcliffe said, "a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean, I think it's called Puerto Rico," at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.
Images of the devastation Hurricane Maria wrought onto the island are set to Hinchcliffe's comment, and it cuts to a black screen with Trump's mispronunciation of "Puerto Rico," at a 2017 Hispanic Heritage Month event, the Hill reported.
On Sunday, before the rally, Harris released an ad laying out her proposals to Puerto Rico, set to images of hurricane and a video of Trump tossing paper towels at hurricane survivors, the Hill said.
"I will never forget what Donald Trump did," Harris says in the ad. "He abandoned the island and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults."
The Harris campaign is hoping they can make inroads with Puerto Rican voters in key swing states like Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is home to the second largest Puerto Rican community, with Allentown ranking 8th and Reading ranking 12th.
Danielle Alvarez, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said the comments don't represent the views of the Trump campaign or former President Donald Trump.
Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said he would not comment on the joke until he had seen it.
"We have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America. I'm so over it," Vance said at a rally in Wisconsin. "Our country was built by frontiersmen who conquered the wilderness. We're not going to restore the greatness of American civilization if we get offended at every little thing. Let's have a sense of humor, and let's have a little fun."
On X, Hinchcliffe responded to a video of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., criticizing his comments.
"These people have no sense of humor," Hinchcliffe said. "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."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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