The president of the Republican social gathering’s department in Puerto Rico has stated he is not going to vote for Donald Trump except he apologises for racist remarks made at his rally referring to the US island territory as a “floating island of garbage”.
Outrage even amongst fellow Republicans is constant to mount after the racist insult on the Republican nominee’s rally at New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard on Sunday, with the podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe coming underneath fireplace for his inflammatory feedback made about Puerto Rico within the opening speech.
The rally featured practically 30 audio system, with a few of them making a collection of racially offensive remarks about Latinos, Black People and Jewish residents.
“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,” Hinchcliffe stated, amongst different controversial remarks, together with singling out a Black man for a comment about watermelons.
Within the hours following, Democrats, celebrities and Hispanic teams on either side of the political aisle condemned the feedback as “offensive” and “derogatory”.
However on Monday, Angel M Cintrón, a former member of Puerto Rico’s state legislature and the Republican social gathering’s present chair on the island, additionally stated he would withhold his help from Trump except he personally apologised for the racist remarks.
“Right now we have no business and no relationship with Trump,” Cintrón stated throughout a Puerto Rican talkshow. “If Donald Trump doesn’t apologise, we won’t vote for him.”
“Puerto Rico is always first,” he added.
[EXCLUSIVA] El presidente del Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico, Ángel Cintrón, aseguró en Jugando Pelota Dura que no votará por el candidato presidencial Donald Trump si no se disculpa con Puerto Rico.
Esto ocurre luego de que durante un mitin en Nueva York, en el Madison… pic.twitter.com/5i73ecqK8X
— Jugando Pelota Dura🇵🇷 (@JugandoPelotaPR) October 29, 2024
Cintrón’s demand comes after the archbishop of San Juan, Roberto O González Nieves, wrote to the previous president additionally urging him to apologise.
“I enjoy a good joke,” the archbishop wrote. “However, humor has its limits. It should not insult or denigrate the dignity and sacredness of people. Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not only provoke sinister laughter but hatred.”
He added: “It is not sufficient for your campaign to apologise. It is important that you, personally, apologise for these comments.”
Trump has not but apologised or commented on the comic’s racist feedback.
Nevertheless, the swift response from distinguished Puerto Rican figures within the leisure trade on social media prompted his marketing campaign to concern a uncommon defensive assertion, with Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to the marketing campaign, claiming that the remark about Puerto Rico “does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”.
Different members of the Republican social gathering have tried to distance themselves from the feedback.
“This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!” Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida wrote in a publish on X.
Republican congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents components of Miami and has participated in current Trump occasions, stated: “Disgusted by @TonyHinchcliffe’s racist remark calling Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage.’
‘‘This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values’’, she wrote on X. ‘‘Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”
While Puerto Ricans residing on the island are not able to vote for the president, two-thirds of Puerto Ricans residing in the US can cast their ballots in the states where they currently live. In 2021, an estimated 5.8 million people of Puerto Rican origin lived in the US.
According to sources inside Trump’s marketing campaign, his associates are more and more involved concerning the influence on the vote of their political adversaries labelling him as a racist and fascist.
This isn’t the primary time that a few of Hinchcliffe’s remarks have ignited controversy due to their offensive nature.
In 2021, Hinchcliffe, a standup comic from Austin, Texas, whose podcast Kill Tony has 1.89 million subscribers on YouTube, sparked outrage by utilizing a racial slur in reference to the American-Chinese language comic Peng Deng throughout a comedy efficiency and declined to supply an apology.
When questioned by Selection concerning the racist remarks, Hinchcliffe stated: “I knew that what I had done was not wrong. It was so dumbfounding to me because it was a joke, and my stance is that comedians should never apologise for a joke.”
On Monday, Matt Muehling, the home guitarist for the Kill Tony band, posted a press release on Instagram by Puerto Rico’s Democratic chair, Luis Dávila Pernas, denouncing Hinchcliffe’s feedback on the Trump rally.
