BRANDON, Fla. — Puerto Ricans in the Tampa Bay area were troubled by comments made about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally on Sunday.
Before Donald Trump took the stage in New York at Madison Square Garden, Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said, “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. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Speaking to Puerto Ricans in the Brandon area on Monday, people were troubled by the comments.
“That makes me feel sad. I was born there,” David Lopez said. “I know all the people there, everything we have and we have a really beautiful island and it’s sad to hear about those comments. It’s just really irresponsible.”
Lopez owns La Creacion Bakery, a Puerto Rican bakery in Brandon. He still hasn’t decided who he will vote for president.
“We are Americans. We’re from Puerto Rico and are Americans like him and like all of them,” Yessenia Medina said.
She added that she hopes the Hispanic voice will be heard, “because we are good people.”
Medina had already decided on the presidential race before Sunday’s rally.
“I was sure not going to vote for him,” Medina said.
But for some, this still wasn’t enough to change their vote.
“The word garbage hurt a lot our hearts,” said Zulmarie Maldonado outside another business in Brandon, Puerto Rico Bakery.
Maldonado still plans to vote for Trump but says he needs to make this right.
“We got a lot of Puerto Ricans in the United States and most of us, our vote is for him,” Maldonado said.
Herminia Skipper had not heard what was said at Saturday’s rally until we asked her about it, saying although it sounded horrible, it did not change her views.
“I think we need changes and I feel like it’s something he can do,” Skipper said. “I do see a good future with him as president.”
A South Tampa man turned to Susan Solves It after he said ADT told him he had to keep paying for a security system at his Hurricane Helene-damaged home, even though the system was so new that he never had a day of service.
