New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, blasting the Trump campaign after a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during a Trump rally, urged Latino voters on Monday morning to realize that the ex-president sees them as “an unimportant, unvalued and unnecessary part of the United States of America.”
She continued, “He believes that Latinos, as we’ve seen, are an unimportant, unvalued and unnecessary part of the United States of America.”
On Sunday, Hinchcliffe made an offensive joke assailing Puerto Rico – in New York, the city that’s home to the largest Puerto Rican population on the US mainland.
“There’s a lot going on, like, I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” Hinchliffe said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s family is from Puerto Rico, and she told CNN that the comments were an “authentic depiction” about what Trump believes and thinks about the country.
The congresswoman said ex-President Donald Trump’s policies following Hurricane Maria in 2017 left the island devastated and struggling to rebuild, contrasting Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent campaign promises to focus on economic development in the region.
After Bolduan pointed out that Harris has been moving to the center on issues such as fracking, a border wall and Medicare for All, she asked the congresswoman, “Do you like that she is doing that? Do you like that shift?”
Ocasio-Cortez did not answer Bolduan’s question directly, instead reiterating her support of progressive policies, stating that said that there should be an expansion of Medicare and lowering the age of eligibility, as well as a plan to provide a path to citizenship and documenting people to handle illegal immigration.
However, she added, “I know what candidate the progressive flank has a fighting chance with, and it’s not Donald Trump, it’s Kamala Harris.”