WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is seizing on a Donald Trump ally’s racist comments about Puerto Ricans this weekend, launching a new digital ad targeting Latino voters who say they deserve better than the former president offered.
The paid media blitz follows comments from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during the first program at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
The 30-second spot will run online in battleground states on platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu and Snapchat, where Latinos consume a lot of media, according to a Harris campaign official who first shared the details with NBC News.
More than 450,000 Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania alone, with more than 300,000 voters in each county, according to US Census data. Latino Data Hub.
Outside of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan also have large enough Puerto Rican populations that the race can only be defined by the margins.
In addition to the ad, a Harris official said the Democratic campaign will place new digital ads in El Nuevo Dia, the most popular newspaper in Puerto Rico, during Election Day. They will be accompanied by a GIF that says in Spanish: “Take care of your family in the States. One vote, one vote.”
Harris’ new campaign video begins with the comedian’s own words, calling Trump “Puerto Rico,” before ending with Harris commenting on how the former president reacted when Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017.
“I will never forget what Donald Trump did. He left the island and offered nothing but paper towels and insults,” Harris said, taken from a message his campaign released Sunday while meeting with Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania, well before Trump’s rally.
“As president, I will always fight for you and your families, and together we can forge a new path forward,” the ad concludes.
The Trump campaign tried distanced himself from the remarks, and some high-profile Republicans quickly condemned them.
Before Trump’s event, Harris touted his economic proposals for the Puerto Rican community during stops in Philadelphia, including a Puerto Rican restaurant.
His agenda, if elected, includes cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that has slowed projects in recent years and launching an “economy of opportunity” for Puerto Ricans, including building a sustainable energy grid.
The Harris campaign released a video outlining the policy, which was later shared on Instagram by Puerto Rican superstars like Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Luis Fonzi.
Some had already endorsed the vice president, but Harris aides hope that their decision to amplify his message at this point has a big ripple effect with their massive following. Combined, the four musicians have more than 300 million followers on Instagram.