The racist jokes about Puerto Rico made at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally might not have pissed off his followers, but that’s not saying much. While JD Vance tried to do damage control by telling people to essentially get over it and stop caring about racism, others have rightfully spoken out about Tony Hinchcliffe’s tasteless, tone-deaf jokes. And some of the complaints are coming from the least likely places, including *checks notes* the Catholic Church?
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The secret’s out of the bag….
That’s right. In an open letter penned by Roberto O. Gonzáles Nieves, Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico, the prelate condemns Hinchcliffe’s actions and asks Trump to “disavow” these comments.
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“The abuelas are activated,” wrote Alejandra Caraballo in response to this news. It’s true, and it means that Trump is walking a dangerous line in alienating his Latino voter base. Though Catholicism is on the decline in recent years, it’s still practiced by 43% of Hispanic adults in the U.S.
It’s impossible to think that Trump wouldn’t have been aware of the possibility of pissing up a large voting block with Hinchcliffe’s remarks, which were almost certainly vetted by staff beforehand. But as we get closer to voting day, Trump’s strategy seems clearer than ever: appeal to racist white voters, and damn the consequences.
Add to this the fact that Bad Bunny endorsed Kamala Harris after the fateful MSG Trump rally, and you’ve got an interesting turning of the tide.
But how will it affect the polls? We’ll have to wait and see.
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