No one will forget this, says Puerto Rican Dalma Santiago in Fairhill, Philadelphia, to BBC.
She is not the only American with roots in Puerto Rico who is upset after Donald Trump's election rally in Madison Square Garden over the weekend. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico, a self-governing American territory in the Caribbean, "an island of trash" when he warmed up the crowd for Trump.
In Fairhill, in the swing state of Pennsylvania, one of the states where the election is practically decided, around 90,000 people with roots in Puerto Rico live. In total, several hundred thousand Puerto Ricans live in the state – most of them with the right to vote in the election on November 5.
The campaign has shot itself in the foot. It's insane, says Ivonne Torres Miranda, adding that she is disappointed in both presidential candidates.
Demanding an Apology
Trump's staff has stated that the outburst does not reflect the former president's views. Trump himself tells ABC News on Tuesday that he did not hear Hinchcliffe's comment.
The Archbishop of Puerto Rico is demanding a personal apology from Trump.
"Puerto Rico is not a floating island of trash. Puerto Rico is a beautiful country inhabited by beautiful and magnificent people", writes Archbishop Roberto González Nieves in a letter published on social media.
Even Angel Cintrón-García, the Republican leader in Puerto Rico, expresses anger. If Trump does not apologize, Cintrón-García will not vote for him, says the Republican according to BBC in the talk show "Jugando Pelota Dura".
Even in the Trump camp, frustration is bubbling, according to several media outlets. Several speakers at Madison Square Garden made racist, misogynistic, and vulgar comments, and many Republicans are wondering how they were even allowed to pass, writes Politico.
Vance: Too Sensitive
Especially the choices of Tony Hinchcliffe and radio host Sid Rosenberg, who in his speech called Hillary Clinton a "sick bastard" and Democrats "Jew-hating zeros", are being questioned.
We're talking about two obscure people who have nothing to do with this election, says radio host and Trump supporter John Fredericks to Politico.
According to CNN, people within the Trump campaign are now arguing about who is to blame for the debacle. According to a source, no one had reviewed the speeches in their entirety.
I'm furious, says a source close to the former president to CNN.
Others have rushed to Trump's defense, including his running mate JD Vance. At an election rally in Wisconsin on Monday evening, Vance claimed that people are too sensitive and should calm down.
Puerto Rico in the Caribbean functions as a self-governing territory belonging to the USA. The main island is the smallest of the islands in the Greater Antilles, roughly the same size as the area of Östergötland.
The island fell to the USA in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War, along with Cuba, the Philippines, and Guam.
In 1917, the island's inhabitants were granted American citizenship, but with a certain special status.
After World War II, Puerto Ricans flooded to the US mainland, where there was a shortage of labor due to the war. There are now more Puerto Ricans on the US mainland than on the island. Puerto Ricans make up the second-largest Spanish-speaking voter group in the USA, according to Pew Research Center.
Those who stayed behind often say they feel like second-class citizens, since they, despite having citizenship, cannot vote in American presidential elections. The island's population also receives limited federal support compared to American states.
Source: AP
