The Harris campaign says that the attacks on Puerto Ricans at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally have broken through with voters in a big way.
Selina Wang of ABC News reported:
The Harris campaign sees that whole rally as a fortuitous gift for the campaign. You heard the Vice President today saying that this is just more of the same from Donald Trump, more of this divisive and chaotic language where Donald Trump is seeking to have Americans point fingers at each other instead of trying to come up with practical solutions.
And what’s really notable is that the exact moment that this rally was underway, where people were comparing Puerto Rico to a floating island of garbage, Vice President Harris said Was actually at a Puerto Rican restaurant engaging with the local community and that very morning she had just laid out her economic plan for Puerto Rico, which includes rebuilding some of the energy grid as well as trying to provide more access to affordable housing.
And I just spoke to a campaign source who is telling me that they are seeing We’re seeing this backlash breakthrough in a way that they have not seen yet. This cycle with non traditional media outlets and with celebrities who aren’t politically engaged hopping into this conversation. Bad Bunny, who is one of the most influential figures in the Latino community, especially with Latino men and young Latino men, he had reposted a video of Vice President Harris talking about her plan for Puerto Rico.
You had other celebrities getting into this conversation as well. I’m told that the campaign is going to continue seizing on this that they’re working on an advertisement around this right now, and they’re well aware, Kira, that in battleground Pennsylvania, there’s some half a million Puerto Ricans.
Video:
Campaign source tells me they’re seeing Puerto Rico comparison to “floating island of garbage” breaking through in a way they haven’t seen yet this political cycle
Campaign had already been in convos with Bad Bunny on Puerto Rico policies
Pennsylvania has ~500K Puerto Ricans @ABC pic.twitter.com/K4lnJo8JAw— Selina Wang (@selinawangtv) October 28, 2024
Trump held a big MAGA gathering in the epicenter of American media, and instead of generating attention on his closing message, it exposed the racism that is fueling his campaign.
People aren’t talking about Trump’s rally as a triumph, but how it might end up costing him the key state of Pennsylvania, and maybe the election.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association