US Presidential Elections 2024: Kamala Harris campaign releases ad targeting Trump ally’s racist comments on Puerto Rico

US Presidential elections are but a week away and candidates are pulling every trick out of the bag to shore up votes in a bid to win the keys to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign did the same by seizing Donald Trump’s ally’s racist comments aimed at Puerto Ricans.

The Harris campaign got hold of the video and launched a digital ad aimed at Latino voters arguing that they deserve better than racist remarks and what the former president is offering.

The root of the problem is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who, during Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday in New York City, made numerous comments on Puerto Ricans – he went to the extent of calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”

The 30-second spot video is scheduled to run on multiple platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu, and Snapchat in battleground states, all places where Latino voters primarily consume content, according to a Harris campaign official.

According to data from the Latino Data Hub at UCLA, Pennsylvania as a state alone is home to over 450,000 Puerto Ricans, out of which more than 300,000 are eligible voters.

Except for Pennsylvania, Latinos maintain a healthy population in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Michigan, places where the race could be decided marginally.

The Harris campaign isn’t stopping there. The team has also planned to place digital ads in El Nuevo Dia, one of the most popular newspapers in Puerto Rico. The ads will include GIFs in Spanish that say:“Focus on your family in the States. One voice, one vote.”

Harris’ new campaign video took advantage of the situation, too. The video begins with the comedian’s words before Trump jumping in with “Puerto Rico” and then ends with Harris’ comments on how Trump responded when Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc in 2017.

“I will never forget what Donald Trump did. He abandoned the island and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults,” Harris will say, according to NBC News. “As president, I will always fight for you and your families, and together, we can chart a new way forward,” the ad will conclude.

On the defensive, the Trump campaign has tried to deflect the issue and high-profile Republicans have also rebuked the remarks.

Notably, Harris had, prior to Trump’s event, proposed her planned economic proposals for the community in the area, including a planned Puerto Rican restaurant. The proposed agenda, if she is elected, includes launching an “opportunity economy”for locals, including building a resilient energy grid by getting rid of bureaucratic red tape that has been slowing projects in the last few years.

The campaign also posted a video summary of her proposed policies which famous Puerto Ricans like Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin and Luis Fonsi, have further shared.