Bronx Puerto Ricans took to the streets earlier this week to denounce recent disparaging remarks made about Puerto Rico by a Trump surrogate in the lead up to Election Day, Nov. 5.

 

During a Trump Vance presidential campaign rally held at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Sunday, Oct. 27, AP reported that rally speaker, Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic, said, “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.”

 

Forbes later reported that former U.S. President and 2024 Republican nominee Donald J. Trump said he didn’t “know” the comedian, Hinchcliffe, who made the remarks, and called the MSG rally a ‘Love Fest.’

 

The Board of Directors of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade later condemned what they called the “outrageous, racist, and misinformed statement.” They said, “First, Puerto Rico is a beautiful island whose U.S. citizens make tremendous contributions to this country in the military, medicine, science, education, sports, and many other disciplines.”

They continued, “Puerto Ricans alone have earned over 2,700 Purple Hearts in defense of the United States. Our historical and cultural legacy and the beauty of Puerto Rico are not just well-documented, but also globally recognized. Another 5.8 million American citizens who recognize and embrace their Puerto Rican ancestry live in the [States], in crucial voting states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina.”

 

The statement concluded, “Shockingly, people choose to speak with ignorance about Puerto Rico, spewing garbage statements. This insult will not diminish who we are, or what we represent but should remind us of the critical importance of voting on November 5th.”

 

Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny and Bronx actor, singer and producer Jennifer Lopez, who grew up in the Castle Hill neighborhood, later announced their respective public endorsements of U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Lopez also spoke at a Harris Walz rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 31.

 

Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), who represents a large section of The Bronx stretching from the northwest to the South, also weighed in, saying, “As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage. When casting their ballots at the voting booth, Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump seems all too willing to platform.”

BRONX ACTOR, SINGER, and producer Jennifer Lopez addresses a rally in support of the Harris Walz campaign in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. Video courtesy of CNN via YouTube.

In the days that followed, Bronx and other New Yorkers of Puerto Rican and Hispanic heritage, and their allies held a rally at La Marqueta in East Harlem, urging New Yorkers to vote for the Harris Walz campaign. Among those present were Bronx Assemblywoman Karines Reyes (A.D. 87), Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who represents parts of the west Bronx and northern Manhattan / Harlem, State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34), who broadly represents the East Bronx, State Sen. José Serrano (S.D. 29), who represents parts of the South Bronx and northern Manhattan/Harlem, City Council Member Rafael Salamanca (C.D. 17), who represents parts of the South Bronx, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), who represents parts of Brooklyn, Jessica González Rojas (A.D. 34) representing parts of Queens, and State Sen. Jessica Ramos (S.D. 13), representing parts of Queens.

 

Reyes, who broadly represents some or all of Westchester Square, West Farms, Little Yemen, Parkchester, Unionport and Castle Hill, said, “Buenos Dias, my name is Karines Reyes. I am chair of the Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force in the [NY] Senate and the Assembly.” She then thanked her NYS legislature colleagues for joining her.

 

“We are appalled by the vitriol that came out of yesterday’s press conference [MSG rally],” Reyes said. Switching to Spanish, the assemblywoman continued, “And [as] my mama tells me, ‘Tell me who you hang with, and I’ll tell you who you are’.” She continued in English, “But also, when people show you who they are, believe them! Believe them! And he [Trump] has shown us time and tme again who he is, not just by the words, but by his actions. ”

The assemblywoman continued, “Because when Puerto Rico was suffering after Hurricane Maria, he dragged his feet to give people the support, the help that they needed, and until this day, Puerto Rico is still suffering. It’s still suffering because of Donald Trump’s inaction, because of his lack of investment.”

 

Reyes added, “Only, only our vice president, Kamala Harris, has put forward a true agenda to address La Isla de [the island of] Puerto Rico. Only the Harris Walz ticket has put together an agenda to fix our healthcare system, true solutions for the people who are claiming that nobody does anything for them. All  you have to do is look at the policies. Look at the platform. All Donald Trump has offered us is vitriol and hate, and we are above that. We are above that and we will make sure that he knows that on Nov. 5th with our vote. We will come out and we will vote.”

 

Amid cheers from the crowd, the assemblywoman promised that at the next SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico on Nov. 6, attendees would celebrate a Harris victory. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris had also shared a chart on X on Oct. 28 of the alleged actions/inactions taken by the Trump administration in response to Hurricane Maria in September 2017, writing, “When he was president, Donald Trump insulted Puerto Ricans and left them behind. We are not going back.”

 

Various past and present Bronx Democratic elected officials of Puerto Rican and Hispanic origin had similarly rallied outside Trump Tower in Manhattan in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria which hit the island in September 2017, in response to former Republican U.S. President Donald J. Trump infamously tossing paper towels at Puerto Rican victims of the hurricane during an event held in its aftermath.

Amnesty International reported that Hurricane Maria was the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly a century and made landfall on Sept. 20, 2017, compounding destruction caused by Hurricane Irma just weeks before. More than 44% of the population of Puerto Rico lives in poverty, compared to the national US average of approximately 12%, according to Amnesty.

 

It further reports that on 28 Aug. 2018, Puerto Rico’s then governor revised the official death count from 64 to 2,975. Prior to that various other studies had estimated the death count to be even higher. Trump allegedly denied the numbers. Amnesty reported that a year after Maria, tens of thousands in Puerto Rico were still living under blue tarps, designed as temporary roofs. After a federal court decision on 30 Aug, 2018, Puerto Ricans temporarily housed in the USA lost FEMA’s housing support on 15 Sept.

 

Norwood News has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on the statements made in relation to the response by the former Trump administration to Hurricane Maria and its former health policies in general and will share any feedback we receive.

 

For his part, Espaillat said in part, “Now, to Latino men, a message to Latino men, from us men. It’s not trong to disparage our women. It’s not strong to pick on those that need help. It’s not strong to badmouth any group that may be different than you. It’s not strong to push down somebody so you can get up. In fact, it is weak to do all of those things, so to Latino men, don’t be bamboozled by this guy!” He added, “We don’t want an apology [from Trump]. We will cast our vote on Nov. 5th.”

 

After the rally, Fernandez later said in part, “Hate & racism can never be tolerated. Proud to stand with my colleagues and New Yorkers to denounce the hateful speeches and rhetoric that came out of the Trump rally at MSG.” Her full statement is attached further below.

 

Meanwhile, Salamanca later said, “Calling Puerto Rico ‘garbage’ is vile and un-American. As a Bronx Puerto Rican, I’m proud of our heritage. We won’t stand for hate against Puerto Ricans and Latinos. Our communities make America stronger.”

The garbage comments have, in the meantime, become a rallying cry for Boricuos and Boricuas (Puerto Ricans) and have garnered a recent musical response in San Juan, PR which translates as, “The garbage are… the garbage are.. the garbage are the people who defend Donald Trump. Long live Puerto Rico!” 

 

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), who represents parts of The Bronx and Queens and who is currently campaigning across the country for the Harris Walz campaign, gave her reaction to the tune, writing on X, “I’m going to make this my ringtone.”

 

Former Bronx Borough President Ruben Díaz Jr. also gave his reaction online to the Trump rally comments, writing, “[It’s] not just that he [Trump] let his ASSHOLE friend’s insults go UNCHECKED, remember that when our families on Puerto Rico needed POTUS the most, all he did for them was throw paper towels and let thousands of Americans die!”

 

He continued, “Never Forget. I WON’T!! That’s why I’m with HER! @kamalaharris To ALL Boricuas if you ARE offended, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! If not NOW, THEN WHEN will you fight to protect your Dignity?!”

According to the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at CUNY Graduate Center, in 2020, there were about 1.19 million Puerto Rican-origin people living in the New York City metro area. As of 2020, in New York City, the majority (39.7% or 265,517 people) live in The Bronx, compared to 21.9% in Brooklyn, 15.6% in Manhattan, 16.2% in Queens and 6.5% on Staten Island. The 38^th Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade returned in all its glory to the Grand Concourse on Saturday, Oct. 19 [story to follow].

 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson also reacted to the Trump rally remarks about PR, saying, “Any racist, vile, and hateful attack on the Puerto Rican community is an attack on our entire borough. We will always stand united against hate, celebrating our diversity and rejecting division.”

 

*”Bernardo” contributed to this story.