Less than 10 days are left before the United States presidential election day. On Sunday (October 27), Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, held a campaign rally in Pennsylvania to court support from Latinx and African American voters. She pledged that if elected, she would establish a “Puerto Rico Opportunity Economy Special Task Force”.
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President, Kamala Harris, visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in Fairhill, Philadelphia on October 27 and delivered a speech. Following this, she posted a video of the visit on her Instagram social media account.
In her speech, Harris stated, “I am basically creating a dedicated task force for Puerto Rico around opportunity economy. And it’s going to do two things in particular. One, bring together the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, the Puerto Rican leadership and the federal government to figure out what do we need to do to build opportunity economy on the island as an extension of the overall opportunity economy plan.”
Over the past decade, Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory in the Caribbean, has faced numerous challenges including a debt crisis, the devastation of Hurricane Maria, and issues with its power grid.
After the release of Harris’s speech video, a joke made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a campaign rally for former president Donald Trump sparked controversy. Hinchcliffe joked at the event held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, saying, “I don’t know if you know this, there’s now an island of garbage floating in the ocean,” and added that he believes this “garbage island” is called Puerto Rico.
Senior advisor to the Trump campaign, Danielle Alvarez, clarified in a statement that Hinchcliffe’s joke does not represent Trump or the Trump campaign’s views.
Several Republican members of Congress also condemned Hinchcliffe’s remarks. Senator Rick Scott posted on social media platform X saying that there is a reason why the joke sparked backlash.
Senator Scott said, “This joke is not funny at all, and it’s not true. The people of Puerto Rico are incredible people, and great Americans! I’ve been to this island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should go visit! I’ll always do what I can to help anyone in Florida or on the island of Puerto Rico.”
On the same day, Republican Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez also posted on platform X saying, “Puerto Rico is the gem of the Caribbean, as well as the home of many of the most patriotic Americans I know.”
He added, “Hinchcliffe’s joke is clearly not funny and absolutely does not reflect my or the Republican Party’s values.”
Another Republican Congressman, Anthony D’Esposito, also posted on platform X saying he is proud to be Puerto Rican.
He said, “My mother was born and raised in Puerto Rico. It’s a beautiful island with a rich culture and an integral part of the United States.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Harris’s running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, criticized Hinchcliffe’s joke on the livestreaming platform Twitch.
Hinchcliffe responded by saying that connecting his joke to “racial discrimination” is taking it out of context.
“I love Puerto Rico, I vacation there,” Hinchcliffe said. “I made fun of everybody…please watch the whole performance. I’m a comedian.”
(Credit: This article was compiled with reference to reports from the Associated Press and The Hill)