Harris seizes on Trump's Puerto Rico fiasco to boost Latino outreach
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Kamala Harris at a campaign rally on Oct. 28 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Vice President Harris' and her campaign are seizing on a Trump rally speaker's racist jokes about Puerto Rico this weekend to woo Latino voters in the election's home stretch.
Why it matters: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's racist jokes have infuriated Puerto Ricans and Latinos across the country, who make up sizable voting blocs in several key swing states with only days left in the campaign.
Catch up quick: Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico "a floating island of garbage" during his speech Sunday night.
- He also made a disparaging joke about how Latinos "love making babies."
- The same day as Trump's rally, Harris rolled out a plan for Puerto Rico that includes fostering the island's economic growth and modernizing its energy grid.
State of play: As Hinchcliffe's comments went viral, several Puerto Rican celebrities — including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin — took to social media to share and show support for Harris's plan.
- The Puerto Rican rapper Don Omar endorsed Harris on Tuesday, writing on Instagram that "Trump has shown us, time and again, what he thinks of us."
- El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico's largest newspaper, also endorsed Harris on Tuesday.
The big picture: The Harris campaign quickly mobilized to capitalize on the fallout from Hinchcliffe's remarks.
- The campaign launched a new digital ad this week targeting Latino voters in battleground states. The ad incorporates remarks from both Hinchcliffe and Trump's remarks before turning to a clip of Harris slamming Trump's treatment of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, NBC News reported.
- Lopez will join Harris during a rally in Las Vegas Thursday.
- Harris also did an interview Tuesday with a Spanish-language radio station in Pennsylvania, which the campaign emphasized included Puerto Rican voters.
Zoom in: The Harris campaign's "Kamala HQ" TikTok account has posted several videos this week seizing on the Hinchcliffe controversy.
- The account has also posted TikToks highlighting the support Harris got from Bad Bunny and Omar in the wake of the controversy set to their hit songs.
- They also posted two videos Tuesday recalling the infamous clip of Trump throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
Our thought bubble: Trump has had a complicated relationship with Puerto Ricans since his administration's response to the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed nearly 3,000 and forced many more to move to the mainland U.S, Axios' Astrid Galván said.
- Many still recall Trump throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans following the hurricane.
What they're saying: The Trump campaign attempted to distance itself from the remarks while Trump denied knowing who Hinchcliffe was and insisted he hadn't seen the comments.
- Harris told reporters Monday that the comments at Trump's Sunday rally were "nonsense" and "more of the same" divisiveness Trump has long fueled over the course of his political career.
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