WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump has villainized Latinos in this country for years. Now, at today’s New York City campaign rally, the veil was pulled back completely. The threat to Latinos in this country has never been more direct or more serious.
Taking the podium at Trump’s rally in New York City, speaker Tony Hinchcliffe unleashed a torrent of vile and racist comments, including calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” openly highlighting the MAGA crowd’s hatred for Latino population growth, painting Latinos as an invading outside force by way of obscene rhetoric, and played up stereotypes of Black Americans.
In response to this extremist, dangerous vitriol, the heads of America’s leading Latino organizations roundly condemned Trump and his entire campaign.
“Trump and the Republicans are reminding us of their animosity toward each and every Latino,” said Voto Latino Co-Founder and President María Teresa Kumar. “With days until the election, they are openly and proudly doubling down on their true intentions of making Latinos the ‘enemy within’ if they win back the White House. Their platform is xenophobia and, specifically, hatred for Latino families.”
“One thing is for certain: Another four years of a Trump presidency puts our communities at risk of violence of the highest order. It is clear that Trump will not stop when it comes to targeting Latinos, and his enablers will cheer him on,” Kumar added. “We must all stand up and call today’s comments what they are: racist, degenerate, and dangerous. It was a call to action to cause harm to us.”
Kumar continued, “In the face of this unambiguous and vile hatred from the Trump mainstage, it is incumbent on all Americans who support our robust and diverse democracy to condemn these remarks. And it is essential that everyone votes who can: Trump has firmly put racism on the ballot, and it is up to all of us to defeat it.”
“The comments expressed today at Trump’s rally aren’t a one-off—this demeaning tone has been a theme in Trump’s rhetoric for nearly a decade and is one that is reinforced by the Project 2025 platform,” said Janet Murguia, President of UnidosUS Action Fund. “As we have already learned, elections have dire consequences and this kind of language signals a deep disregard for a significant part of the American electorate. Our community deserves leadership that values our contributions, not one that treats us with disrespect.”
“These racist comments should be the breaking point for Latino voters—we can’t elect Donald Trump president,” said Sindy M. Benavides, President & CEO of Latino Victory Fund. “Trump and his surrogates are not hiding it anymore—they don’t want Latinos in this country, they don’t respect Latinos, and they don’t see Latinos as human beings. Hearing anti-Latino and anti-Puerto Rican comments coming out of Trump’s rally just days before the election means he doesn’t respect us as voters, and the disrespect will get far worse if he wins. The dehumanizing and dangerous comments coming out of Trump’s rally today will be the basis of his policies if he becomes president.
“We urge Latino voters who support Kamala Harris to turn out to vote, and to undecided Latinos, we ask you to please think of the harm Trump will unleash on our community, our familia, our friends, and our neighbors. Don’t fall for the con man’s schemes, which will take away our hard-fought rights and equality. A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for a candidate who respects Latinos and who has real plans to improve our community. Latinos have the power to stop Trump’s hate and attacks against our community—we need to use the power of our vote to make sure he is not re-elected.”
“Latino voters are paying attention and, like other Americans, they want to hear about economic growth, policy solutions, jobs and how the next president will solve problems,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “Also, like most American citizens, we Latino voters are not interested in hearing which nationalities, ethnic or racial groups Republicans think of as garbage or less than equal human beings. The whole event echoes a level of vitriol and racism we all had hoped we’d left behind us during the last century, only to see it rear its ugly head again during this campaign.”
“This is another example of the constant attacks and disrespect from Donald Trump against Latinos,” said Hector Sanchez Barba, President and CEO of Mi Familia Vota. “This is also reflective of the anti Latino policies that he is proposing to implement if he gets elected. We must make sure that Latinos turn out to vote in record numbers and say NO to Donald Trump, he is enemy number one for our community and for democracy.”
“It is telling that on the same day that the Harris campaign introduced a plan for resolving issues impacting Puerto Rico, the Trump campaign provided a platform for someone to call Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’ and to insult the Latino community as a whole,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation. “Millions of Puerto Ricans in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and New York may no longer live on the island, but they still revere it as their ancestral and cultural home, and you cannot continue to disrespect us and think that we are not going to remember that when we go to the ballot box. Really, enough is enough! It is vital that Puerto Ricans, allies of our community and all Latinos vote in the upcoming election in force and make it clear that these remarks are as unacceptable as the candidate who gave it a national platform today.”
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