PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Eight days before the election, Puerto Rican Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, Reading Mayor Eddie Morán and Latino leaders called for the Trump campaign for comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments He describes Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash.”
“Enough is enough people, I’ve had it,” Morán said. “The frustration level is beyond me.”
Reading is Pennsylvania’s fourth largest city and has a majority Latino population.
“Our community votes with passion,” Morán said.
Both the The Harris and Trump campaigns continue to prioritize Pennsylvania as a must-win battleground state and push for the Latino vote.
“I hope people are as angry as all of us are and that we show him what kind of people we really are,” Lozada said.
Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Freddy & Tony’s, a historic Puerto Rican-owned restaurant in North Philadelphia, where she highlighted her New Way Forward agenda to create opportunities for Latinos and families across Pennsylvania.
Harris responded to Hinchcliffe’s comments on Monday.
“I think Donald Trump’s event at Madison Square Garden last night really highlights the point that I made during the campaign,” Harris said. “He (Trump) is focused and fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country, and it is in no way something that strengthens the American family, the American worker.”
The Trump campaign is now distancing itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments. In a statement, Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump on the campaign.”
Latino leaders believe the comments could boost the Latino vote for Harris.
“On November 5, we must show Donald Trump and all his idiot friends that Puerto Ricans have a voice, that we matter and that we should be respected,” Lozada said.
