Bad Bunny, a hugely popular recording artist from Puerto Rico, joined the roster of celebrities supporting Vice President Kamala Harris after a comedian made a joke about the U.S. territory at former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
The artist, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, shared a video on his Instagram account of Ms. Harris discussing her vision for Puerto Rico and Mr. Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader,” Ms. Harris says in the video. “He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”
Bad Bunny has 45 million followers on social media, so the post could reverberate among Puerto Rican voters whom both candidates want in their corner.
About 500,000 Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state.
Two other Puerto Rican musical artists, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, shared the video.
They supported Ms. Harris after podcaster and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe mocked Puerto Rico in a set of jokes at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Sunday.
“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. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Mr. Hinchcliffe said.
He also made jokes about Latinos “making babies” in vulgar terms, prompting the Trump team to say his comments did not reflect the views of the campaign.
Ms. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said he hopes Puerto Rican voters in battleground states see the comments.
“I want everyone in Philadelphia to see that clip,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, told Mr. Walz on a video chat.
Mr. Hinchcliffe is defending his jokes, saying that he made fun of a wide swath of people and that Mr. Walz singled out the part about Puerto Rico.
“These people have no sense of humor,” the comedian posted on X. “Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”
Some Republicans weren’t laughing, however.
Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican facing reelection, said the joke “bombed for a reason.”
“It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!” Mr. Scott, whose state is home to an enormous Puerto Rican population, said on X. “I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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