Will fallout from Trump rally’s Puerto Rico comments cost this Long Island Republican his seat?

It’s not exactly an October surprise, but an offensive joke about Puerto Ricans made at a New York City Trump rally on Sunday could wind up tipping the scales in the incredibly close 4th Congressional District on Long Island.

Opening for former President Donald Trump at a rally at Madison Square Garden on the second day of early voting, conservative comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” in a set that included other offensive comments about Latinos and other minority groups. The comment specifically about Puerto Rico drew immediate backlash from Puerto Rican and Latino elected officials, as well as Democrats more broadly. In fact, the largest newspaper in Puerto Rico endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris the next day, in an editorial that cited Hinchcliffe’s comments.

The “garbage” joke is resonating on Long Island in the neck-and-neck race between Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and Democrat Laura Gillen. Although the district is mostly white, about 21% of the population is Hispanic. That includes nearly 22,000 Puerto Ricans. According to Democratic consultant Teresa Gonzalez, a board member of the group La Brega Y Fuerza which has been working on mobilizing the Puerto Rican vote in swing districts, there are at least 10,000 Puerto Rican voters specifically in the district – roughly the margin of victory that D’Esposito beat Gillen by in 2022. “Puerto Rican voters in NY-4, who watched this play out on the national stage, watch their island be denigrated in the way that it was, can be absolutely the deciding factor in this,” Gonzalez told City & State.

In a statement, Gillen called the rhetoric from the Trump rally “reprehensible,” tying it to racist conspiracy theories about Haitian migrants that Trump has spread as well. “Puerto Ricans, Haitians and all communities in NY-4 deserve to be represented by a leader who will always speak up for them, and that’s what I’ll do in Congress,” Gillen said. The Long Island district is also home to a not insignificant community of Haitians who have been similarly mobilized through the racist rhetoric.

D’Esposito referenced his own Puerto Rican heritage when responding to the offensive joke. “I’m proud to be Puerto Rican. My mom was born and raised in Puerto Rico,” he wrote on X. “It’s a beautiful island with a rich culture and an integral part of the USA. The only thing that’s ‘garbage’ was a bad comedy set.” But Gonzalez argued that D’Esposito’s attempt to appeal to Puerto Rican voters would likely fall flat since his statement didn’t go far enough to denounce the hateful rhetoric. “He didn't denounce Trump, he didn't denounce the campaign, he didn't denounce the speakers,” she said, adding that the comments were “so vile” it would be hard to dispel an association with them at all. “I think this should really be making the Republicans nervous,” she said.

A spokesperson for D’Esposito did not return a request for comment about how the joke at the rally could impact his race. 

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman in Congress and one of the island’s strongest advocates, said at a Monday press conference in East Harlem that Trump is sure to lose crucial support because of the garbage remark by Hinchcliffe. “He made a calculated error yesterday,” Velázquez said. “Basically he said goodbye to PA, to Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania we have 450,000 Puerto Ricans.” She spent Tuesday canvassing with Gillen in the Village of Freeport, meeting with Latino store owners and customers. 

Gonzalez said that Latino voters are historically overlooked in New York, particularly on Long Island, but Democrats have been making concerted efforts to reach that population this election cycle. The Democratic group Battleground New York has also been targeting Latino voters in swing districts. In a previously unreported six-figure ad buy, the group began running radio spots on stations with large Latino audiences in the 4th Congressional District on Monday. “Battleground New York… is meeting voters where they are, in the languages they speak and on the issues that matter most, to help flip the house and get Democrats back into the majority,” Battleground co-founder Andy Grossman said in a statement. “The contrast in this election could not be more clear: while Republicans hurl vile insults at Puerto Rico, Democrats stand up for the island so many New Yorkers are proud to call home.”

Make the Road Action, a progressive immigrant advocacy group, is holding a rally on Thursday with Puerto Rican and Latino residents in Hempstead, the heart of NY-4, in response to the Trump rally. And last month, the Democratic National Committee announced an influx of cash into the state to bolster outreach and engagement efforts with Puerto Rican voters in swing districts.