Racist joke at Trump rally spurs Chicago call for Puerto Ricans to vote — 'turn this anger into real action'
Outraged Puerto Rican community leaders and Latino elected officials on Tuesday railed against a racist joke made during a Donald Trump rally, but they also credited the “stupidity and ignorance” of the comedian responsible for lighting a fire under an influential voting bloc.
They said the community's voice could be decisive in the Nov. 5 election, especially in tight swing states with a large Puerto Rican electorate like Pennsylvania.
"I want to thank the man for his stupidity and ignorance in giving 500,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania something to stand up for," said Hipolito Roldan, chief executive of the Hispanic Housing Development Corp.
Roldan was among nearly a dozen speakers at a news conference Tuesday at Mercado Del Pueblo on Division Street in Humboldt Park — the heart of Chicago's Puerto Rican community. Their condemned the joke and implored eligible Puerto Ricans to go to the polls.
“I want to thank the man for his stupidity and ignorance in giving 500,000 Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania something to stand up for,” Hipolito Roldan, chief executive of the Hispanic Housing Development Corp, said about a comedian at a Trump rally in New York on Sunday who made a joke denigrating Puerto Rico.
Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
"It's important that we turn this anger into real action, otherwise it's meaningless," said Jose Lopez, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which organized the event.
Stand-up comic Tony Hinchcliffe, during a rally for Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage.” Hinchcliffe made crude jokes about other Latinos, Black people and Jews. Other speakers at the rally also denigrated minorities.
Puerto Rican stars, including singer Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, expressed their disgust with the joke to their millions of followers on social media.
Some Trump allies have voiced alarm that the rally, which was supposed to highlight the former GOP president's closing message a week before the election, has instead served as a distraction and even a liability, given the electoral importance of Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania and other key swing states.
With nearly 6 million voters eligible to cast a ballot in the U.S., Puerto Ricans make up the second-largest Latino voting group, according to the Pew Research Center.
Chicago is home to more than 93,000 Puerto Ricans, according to 2020 Census data.
Given the opportunity to apologize at events and in an interview Tuesday, Trump instead leaned in. Speaking at his Florida resort, he said that “there’s never been an event so beautiful,” referring to the New York rally.
Later Tuesday, Trump held a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city with a large Hispanic population, where Puerto Rico’s shadow U.S. senator, Zoraida Buxo, endorsed him. She voiced her support for Trump on X, saying Trump is the “strong leader” that Puerto Rico needs.
Still, there was anger in Allentown. Ivet Figueroa, 61, stood outside the venue holding a trash can with the words “Trash Trump” on it.
She said of the insult and Trump: “The person who said it was vetted by him. So that’s what he allowed, so he has to take responsibility for what he said. Now it’s too late for saying ‘sorry.’ I don’t want an apology, I want justice, and justice is on Nov. 5.”
In Humboldt Park, U.S. Rep Delia Ramirez didn't mention Hinchliffe by name at the news conference Tuesday, but she called him a "P-O-S comedian."
She said the reluctance of Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, to denounce the joke reflects their true attitude toward Puerto Rico and its people. Ramirez called on Puerto Ricans with friends and relatives in swing states to reach out however they can and get people to vote.
"Your WhatsApp chats, your family, the bakery, the church, everywhere you are, pueblo puertorriqueno, this is the moment for this country to understand who you are, what you represent, the power you have, the contributions you have made," she said. "The Puerto Rican people deserve self-determination, deserve respect and will make sure that their voice is truly heard on Nov. 5th when we eventually on that day really throw out the garbage when we get rid of Donald Trump."
Other elected officials who spoke Tuesday included City Clerk Anna Valencia, state Rep. Lilian Jimenez, state Sen. Natalie Toro and Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th).
Comedian and actor Melissa DuPrey, who was born and raised in Humboldt Park and has Puerto Rican roots, said she was "almost grateful" when she heard about the insult at the Trump rally because it woke up her community to what's at stake in this election.
"To see that we are not safe under [Trump's] administration," she said. "Our island would be stripped of its value and its humanization and its natural resources under his administration, so I said thank you for showing us your real colors."
Lyrik Cruz, a Humboldt Park native who now lives in Los Angeles, wore a shirt with "RSPETO," a truncated version of the Spanish word for respect, and held up Puerto Rican flags as he listened to the speakers.
He said the remarks were "like a slap in the face" and a reminder of how the Puerto Rican community has felt undermined and mistreated by some politicians. He said this time they'll be able to do something about it.
Contributing: Associated Press