ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump worked Tuesday to tamp down anger over a comedian's insulting jokes about Latinos and Puerto Rico at his rally at Madison Square Garden, campaigning in a majority-Latino city as the uproar threatens to erode gains he has made with Latino voters.
Trump made no mention of the comedian's remarks in New York City in his 75-minute address, citing polls that show him performing well among Latino voters and voicing solidarity with Puerto Rico.
"I will deliver the best future for Puerto Ricans and for Hispanic Americans," he said.
Late in his appearance, Trump called to the lectern Puerto Rico's Republican shadow senator, who praised him and vouched for his commitment to the U.S. territory days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe likened Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage” as one of a string of jokes at Trump's event Sunday.
"The people of Puerto Rico trust you and we have high hopes," said Zoraida Buxó, a Republican who is one of Puerto Rico's nonvoting "shadow senators" who advocate for statehood. "We need this man back in the White House. We need this man to be our commander in chief. He will make us feel safe. And he will protect us."
Before Trump arrived onstage, some of the speakers also took pains to celebrate Puerto Rico.
Tim Ramos, a former mayoral candidate in Allentown, introduced himself to the crowd as “a Puerto Rican man” who wanted to express his “love of the island and the people of Puerto Rico.”
“We have a proud heritage, a heritage that has seen our men fight in every war this nation has ever waged,” he said. “We are a beautiful people from a beautiful island.”
Buxó, who also spoke before Trump arrived, described Puerto Rico as a “beautiful island” with a “deep, deep love of country.”
“Blessed by God, that is home,” she added. “That is Puerto Rico.”
Another speaker, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., delivered remarks in both Spanish and English. Rubio, who had earlier criticized Hinchcliffe's comment on X, didn't mention the episode Tuesday.
The pro-Puerto Rico message follows two days of growing outrage over Hinchcliffe's appearance at the Trump rally Sunday in the famed arena in Manhattan.
In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday night, Trump said he doesn’t know the comedian.
“Somebody said there was a comedian that joked about Puerto Rico or something, and I have no idea who is,” Trump said. He added, "I don’t want anybody making nasty jokes or stupid jokes. Probably he shouldn’t have been there.”
Amid a tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Hinchcliffe's comment disparaged a slice of the electorate that could tip a close election. In Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, the Puerto Rican population amounts to nearly 500,000 people, according to census estimates. People of Puerto Rican descent are the biggest share of Latino eligible voters in Pennsylvania.
Matt Tuerk, the Democratic mayor of Allentown, said in an interview that his constituents are "furious."
"People are going to turn that anger into voting. That's how people will react," he said. "We don't get mad; we get even."
Even before the Madison Square Garden rally ended, condemnation poured in. Elected officials from both parties, pop culture figures, entertainers and ordinary voters recoiled at the remark. The Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny endorsed Harris and put out a video that was an homage to the island, giving it an ironic caption: "Garbage."
