Puerto Rico, the island of garbage, is a floating island of trash. Trump’s comments on hurricane Maria prompt outbursts and the response to the disaster

Trump questioned the death toll in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as well as the federal response to the disaster. During a visit to the island after the storm, he infamously threw rolls of paper towels into a group of people at a church collecting supplies.

Harris said the federal government would work with the private sector and island leaders to find ways to create more jobs there, and also pledged to rebuild the island’s rickety power grid.

While in Philadelphia on Sunday, she was promoting a new pledge to help Puerto Rico, her message got some traction thanks to her opponent’s rally in New York.

Puerto Ricans living on the island don’t get to vote in the presidential election. In Pennsylvania, a key state in this year’s race, Boricuas wield significant clout.

Trump’s remarks, just a week from the final day of voting, comes a day after his campaign played clean up after a comedian warming up the crowd at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” — drawing outrage from Boricuas far and wide, and boosting support for Harris’ message.

The Republican nominee for president kept to his script of border enforcement, crime and the economy while attempting to draw a contrast with his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“In less than four years, Kamala Harris has obliterated our borders,” Trump said in comments from his Mar a Lago resort. “They’ve unleashed war and chaos all over the world Nobody has caused so much destruction or death at home and abroad as should be permitted to be the president.

In Pennsylvania where Trump and Harris are in a virtual tie, he started the event with a false claim about election fraud. He claimed to be leading in all seven swing states, which are also tied. The families of those killed by migrants who were in the country illegally featured in his appearance, and both he and them blamed Harris and Democrats. It was false for Trump to suggest that countries around the world were sending criminals to the US to lower their crime rates. The southern border with Mexico is similar to what it was when Trump was in office.

FBI data shows that violent crime is down, and Trump blamed Harris for the increase. The economy has rebounded more quickly than most other countries during the Biden years, and he claimed that he was responsible for the recent stock market spike.

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement.

While several Republican lawmakers also distanced themselves from the comments, Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, dismissed the controversy, urging Americans “to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America — I’m so over it.”

Puerto Rican Cartoonists Critique Bad Bunny and the Reconstruction of Puerto Rica’s Electricity and Jobs: A Response to a Message from Trump

Puerto Rican celebrities condemned the remarks by the comedian: Megastar Bad Bunny and other Puerto Rican artistsposted video messages promising to work to create more jobs on the island, and to rebuild its rickety power grid, after Harris posted a message to his 45 million followers.

Trump will hold a rally in Bethlehem, Pa., later in the day.