Former Puerto Rico governor criticizes racist language at Trump rally

Puerto Rico’s former governor Ricardo Rosselló has been closely watching the fallout from the racist comments made during Donald Trump’s campaign rally on Sunday.

As someone involved in politics for much of his life, Rosselló – who has historically supported the Democratic party – heard reactions from both Republican colleagues and previously ambivalent voters.

“On the one side, what I’m seeing is people that were leaning towards voting for Trump are now thinking of either abstaining or voting for Harris,” Rosselló said, adding that the once-ambivalent voters are now using this moment as motivation to vote for Kamala Harris.

On Sunday evening, during Trump’s New York City campaign rally, a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and made disparaging remarks about its people. The comments prompted indignation and anger among Puerto Ricans and other voters nationwide.

Rosselló thinks the racist comments could lead to huge political ramifications for Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election next week.

“I just believe, from my experience, that if President Trump addresses it and comes full force on it, and says, ‘I love the people of Puerto Rico, I completely reject the notion that they’re garbage, they’re the opposite of garbage, they are amazing people, they are patriots, proud US citizens’ – I’m just giving an example – then you can give something to the people directly from the horse’s mouth,” Rosselló said. “But if you don’t do that, then you let it all out for interpretation. You let it all out for doubt and for people to speculate on what the intent is. And that is a dangerous position to be put in.”

On political controversy, Rosselló can speak first-hand.

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Rosselló faced tremendous backlash in 2019 when leaked messages from a group chat showed Rosselló and members of his cabinet exchanging misogynistic, racist and offensive texts. In some messages, members of the chat made fun of victims of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. In response to overwhelming protests, Rosselló, who had served as Puerto Rico’s governor for just over two years, stepped down.

“I don’t speak from a place of theory,” Rosselló said. “I speak from a place of experience. I’ve seen the power of words and what they can do, particularly what they can do when you underestimate them or when you don’t go out and define them yourself.”

For Rosselló, there is a “traditional notion” that “actions speak louder than words”, but, he added, “words speak louder than actions. And this is the reality that we’re living in right now – words are powerful things. They can be used for beautiful and amazing vision and construction. But they can be very destructive and painful.”

Also this weekend, outside Trump’s rally in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Harris’s campaign unveiled its plans for Puerto Rico in Pennsylvania.

For some Puerto Rican voters, the stark contrast between the campaigns was significant. Rosselló said it had even led to some Republicans he works with to abandon their support for Trump.

“Our people are wonderful, beautiful, intelligent and creative people,” Rosselló said. “President Trump needs to reject these statements. I don’t see another way out. If he doesn’t, his silence will speak volumes and implicitly support the notions that were stated there.”

Trump, on Tuesday, defended the Madison Square Rally, calling it a “love fest”.

And while it is unclear if the Trump administration knew of the forthcoming racist comments, Rosselló said that the Trump administration most likely knew what Hinchcliffe would say: “As somebody that knows how some of these events go – because I was in politics – my question was: how did they let a comedian come and say those things? It’s not something that was said off the cuff, it was written material. How did that pass the test?”

NBC News reported that Hinchcliffe had workshopped the racist line at a comedy club the previous night.

Puerto Rico became a colony of the US after the Spanish-American war and Puerto Ricans became US citizens in 1917. Due to the island’s status as a US territory, Puerto Ricans living on the island are unable to vote; those living in US states, however, are eligible to cast a ballot.

Under the Trump administration, tensions between the White House and the island grew. In response to the devastation from Hurricane Maria in 2017, then president Trump considered the idea of selling the island. Trump also blocked and delayed relief aid and assistance to Puerto Rico.

Rosselló, a lifelong supporter of the Puerto Rican New Progressive party, served as governor during Trump’s presidency until his resignation in 2019. His father, Pedro Rosselló, was also governor from 1993 to 2001. Now Rosselló is a shadow member of the US House of Representatives, representing Puerto Rico in Congress, and he also runs a bipartisan organization advocating for Puerto Rican statehood.

Economic, political and environmental crises have gravely affected the island in recent years. As the 2024 elections grow near, Rosselló is appealing to the US federal government for Puerto Rican statehood.

“I’ve been very clear and eager that the status issue of Puerto Rico needs to be resolved,” Rosselló said. “The territory is the root cause of many of our ills … I think that anybody that seriously wants to help Puerto Rico needs to let us make a final decision on the status, to transition away from the territory status that does not work.”

As election day approaches, the Puerto Rican voting bloc is notable – particularly in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.

“At the end of the day, they have just helped us,” the Philadelphia city council member Quetcy Lozada, a Harris supporter, said earlier this week. “They have helped the Democratic party for where we will be on November 5.”