At a Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden last Sunday (October 27), comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made the following joke: “there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the Ocean right now… I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” Racism at a Trump rally is hardly a shocking occurrence, but the backlash has been intense: Trump himself has distanced himself from Hinchliffe as Puerto Rican voters in key swing states – particularly Pennsylvania – express their anger.
Among the celebrities to hit back at Hinchliffe was the Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, who posted a loving video tribute to his home on Instagram yesterday, sarcastically captioned ‘garbage’.
The video – originally created as an introduction to a 2021 concert in San Juan – opens with a young boy in Puerto Rico staring up at the sky. Set to stirring music and a narration in Spanish, it moves onto a montage of Puerto Rico’s natural beauty – its frogs, flowers, parrots, beaches and waterfalls – and day-to-day life, before celebrating its many famous sports champions, actors, musicians, comedians and political figures. In a statement at the end of the video, Bad Bunny says, “we are the definition of heart and resistance. For those who forget who we are, don’t worry, we will proudly remind them.”
On Sunday (October 27), he also approvingly shared a clip to his 45 million Instagram followers in which Kamala Harris outlines her plans for Puerto Rico. One of his representatives told CNN that this did not amount to an endorsement, but that he is “supporting” her. There are almost a million Puerto Ricans living in swing states in the US, and when the election is so close – current polls have Harris and Trump neck-in-neck – the Trump campaign should be worried about anything that might tip the balance.