Latino Democratic politicians on Tuesday forcefully condemned former President Donald Trump’s derisive comments about Puerto Rico at a rally over the weekend, urging Puerto Ricans to send their family and friends in battleground states to vote on Nov. 5. I invited them to participate.
“To those who bring that kind of awful rhetoric onto the national stage, we say: ‘You won’t be there long because we’ll get rid of you.'” said Councilwoman Lilian Jimenez. The City of Chicago said at a press conference in Humboldt Park.
The press conference was called after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash” during President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
Although it was pitched as a joke, Chicago Rep. Delia Ramirez said Hinchcliffe’s words represented “exactly what Donald Trump and J.D. Vance and all of them believe.”
“What would J.D. Vance say if someone said that about Middletown, Ohio?” she asked, referring to the Republican vice presidential candidate’s hometown.
The Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments, with Trump telling ABC News that he does not know Hinchcliffe. The former president was scheduled to speak in a predominantly Latino area of Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
At a news conference Tuesday in the heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, some Latino elected officials and other community members echoed this weekend’s rhetoric from generations of American political establishment. They linked the abuse to what they saw.
“We went to visit our Puerto Rican brothers in Pennsylvania and were reminded of how organized we are and how we can ensure we fulfill our civic duty by putting our proud Puerto Ricanness on the ballot. ” said Aldo. said Jesse Fuentes, who placed 26th.
Asked about Hinchcliffe’s problematic comments, the Illinois Republican Party declined to comment further, citing a statement from the Trump campaign that said the joke did not reflect Trump’s views.
Some Republicans from Illinois sought to deflect blame for Hinchcliffe’s language away from Trump.
“The backlash should be given to comedians,” said Republican state Sen. Terry Bryant of Murphysboro.
Bryant said the comment was inappropriate, “but that’s the comedian’s problem, not the Trump campaign’s.”
State Rep. Dan Caulkins of Decatur, a member of the conservative Illinois Freedom Caucus, said Hinchcliffe’s comments were not “literal.”
Mr Caulkins said: “I don’t know if it was funny or not,” but insisted the media reaction to Mr Hinchcliffe’s comments had been exaggerated.
“This is campaign season, these last few days, and candidates are going to be grasping at anything they think they can use to strengthen their positions and opportunities,” Caulkins said.
He called the Democratic Party’s response “politics at its worst.”
The offices of House Republican Leader Tony McCombie of Savannah and Senate Republican Leader John Curran of Downers Grove did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Former House Republican leader Jim Durkin, who retired last year after more than two decades in Congress and has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, condemned the rhetoric at Sunday’s rally, saying Trump was “running to lose.” Or are we running to win?” he questioned.
“I think this is just the epitome of a completely free person,” Durkin said of Trump. “I don’t know what he’s going to do. But he’s a loose cannon and shouldn’t serve another term as President of the United States. And if it’s going to be a reflection of his new administration, then heaven be damned.” Please help us.”
When asked how he would vote for president, Durkin simply said he would not vote for Trump.
He acknowledged that the rally’s rhetoric was unlikely to change the minds of Trump supporters.
But Democrats argued that wasn’t the case, given that he came to a podium with Trump’s name on it. Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who also represents Vice President Kamala Harris, speculated Monday that the Madison Square Garden show could turn some voters off from voting Republican.
“It was a shameful demonstration of what the Republican Party has become and what Donald Trump represents,” Pritzker said at an event in Springfield. “We’ve seen racism and sexism repeated over and over again by speakers over several hours, and of course directly by Donald Trump. So this is a question of what’s at stake in this election. , I think we should show America why people need to go out and vote.”
Goner reported from Springfield.
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