Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin were among notable industry figures who boosted Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Sunday after a speaker at Donald Trump’s political rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden called Puerto Rico “a floating island of called waste.
The blatantly racist comment sparked outrage among prominent Puerto Ricans and many others in the media and entertainment.
“There is literally a floating waste island in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian and podcaster who was one of several speakers before Trump took the stage at the famed concert arena on Sunday night.
Hinchcliffe’s comments were an offensive low point even for a Trump rally, as evidenced by the crowd’s muted response. Hinchcliffe immediately and defensively replied “OK, OK” as he heard scattered boos and little applause. Hinchcliffe made other grossly offensive statements about Latinos prior to his comments.
In response, Bad Bunny, one of the world’s biggest music superstars with more than 45 million Instagram followers, promoted Harris’ campaign video, aimed at voters in Puerto Rico, noting what a contentious relationship Trump had with the island during his term in office at the White House. . Lopez posted Harris campaign material aimed at Puerto Rico, as well as the same video pitch promoting Bad Bunny.
Singer-actor Ricky Martin, with 18.6 million Instagram followers, did the same on his Instagram Stories feed, adding the comment “I remember” to the Harris video. He also included a clip of Hinchcliffe’s “garbage” comment. Additionally, Martin claimed that his X-posts containing the same content were suppressed on the platform formerly known as Twitter and now owned by avid Trump supporter Elon Musk.
Trump’s event attracted widespread live coverage across Fox News and other news networks, social media platforms and digital platforms. The performance of former first lady Melania Trump, who introduced Trump before he took the stage, was striking. Melania Trump has kept a low profile during the campaign during her husband’s third bid for the nation’s highest office.
The event ended with Trump and Melania Trump on stage as a crooner delivered an exaggerated version of the pop standard “New York, New York.”
There’s more to come