After nine years in the political arena, the shock value of Donald Trump’s rhetoric and actions are largely diminished. There isn’t much the guy can say or do that would dissuade his core base from abandoning him: He famously predicted that he wouldn’t lose a single vote if he shot somebody on 5th Avenue, and there hasn’t been much to suggest that wouldn’t be the case.
But Trump cannot win next week solely on the back of his base: he needs swing voters. In the previous two elections, he maxed out at 46.8% of the national vote. The Harris campaign has been running under the assumption that his ceiling this cycle is 48%. That 1.2% difference between 2020 and 2024 could quite literally decide the election and just even a tiny swing in the margins could impact the results.
It’s why on Sunday evening, shortly after Trump walked off the stage following a lengthy rally at Madison Square Garden, his campaign did something it rarely ever does: apologize. Hours earlier, Tony Hinchcliffe, better known as the roast comedian Kill Tony, speaking from a Trump-branded podium, delivered a series of racist jokes aimed at Latinos. In particular, he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.” Video of Hinchcliffe’s comments quickly went viral, amassing over 10 million views on social media within just the first hour.
Last month the Washington Post published an article detailing how both the Trump and Harris campaigns had hoped to secure an endorsement from Bad Bunny, perhaps the most famous and influential musician to ever hail from Puerto Rico. Trump’s campaign had successfully managed to secure endorsements from fellow Reggaeton stars like Nicky Jam and Anuel AA, but Bad Bunny’s star power is unmatched. Not only is he the most streamed artist on Spotify, he is also a movie star and a major presence in the world of WWE. One political consultant told the Washington Post that Bad Bunny’s endorsement would be a “Thanos-level event” and “even more important” than Taylor Swift’s given the number of Puerto Ricans who live in crucial swing states. Almost 500,000 Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania alone.
30 minutes after Hinchcliffe made his joke about Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny publicly endorsed Harris by sharing a video of her plan for Puerto Rico to his 45.6 million followers on Instagram. He also repeatedly shared a clip of Harris discussing Trump’s mishandling of relief efforts following Hurricanes Maria and Irma, which struck Puerto Rico in 2017 and left nearly 3,000 Americans dead on the island.
Fellow Puerto Rican stars including Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Luis Fonsi quickly followed Bad Bunny’s lead. “This is what they think of us,” captioned Martin in an Instagram Story containing video Hinchcliffe’s joke. “It’s ok to have different views, and I respect those who those who think different thank me…but going down this RACIST path ain’t it,” added Fonsi in his own post. “It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us and yet they want our vote.”
Bad Bunny’s endorsement is already having an impact. By Monday, the combination of “Tony Hinchliffe,” “Puerto Rico,” and “Bad Bunny” was the No. 1 trending search on Google with a search volume 5x the amount of any other trending topic of the day. Across social media video of Hinchliffe’s comments have amassed over 50 million views and counting.
The typically brash and confident Trump campaign is clearly feeling the pressure. After issuing a statement distancing Trump from Hinchliffe, the campaign flooded Fox News on Monday with surrogates attempting to explain the nuances of comedy.
In a race that will be decided in the margins, even the tiniest misstep could be a determining factor. Will a roast comedian’s crass joke be the October surprise that costs Trump the election? We’ll find out in eight days.
At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, podcast host and comedian Kill Tony referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” during his set.
Notably, four percent of Pennsylvanians are Puerto Rican.
Around 500,000 people. pic.twitter.com/txE3UD0QVE
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 27, 2024