In North Philadelphia’s Fairhill neighborhood, signs of Puerto Rico are never far away. The red, white and blue flag of the American island nation adorns homes and businesses, and the sounds of salsa and reggaetón emanate from passing cars and restaurants selling fried plantains and spit-roasted pork.

The area is the beating heart of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican population of more than 90,000 and is an important part of Pennsylvania’s Latino community, which both Democrats and Republicans have been trying to reach in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election.

But on Monday morning, many city residents were seething after a joke made the night before at Donald Trump’s rally in New York, in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as an “island of trash.”

Some said the joke could come back to haunt Republicans in a key swing state that Democrats won in 2020 by a narrow margin of 1.17% – about 82,000 votes.

“The campaign has hurt itself so much. I think it’s crazy,” said Ivonne Torres Miranda, a local resident who says she remains disillusioned with both candidates — Republican Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris — with just eight days left in the campaign.

‘Even if he (Mr Hinchcliffe) was joking, you don’t joke like that.

“We are Puerto Ricans. We have dignity and pride,” she told the BBC, speaking in rapid-fire Spanish with a strong Puerto Rican accent.

“You have to think before you say things.”

In the aftermath, the Trump campaign quickly distanced itself from Mr. Hinchcliffe’s joke, with a spokesperson saying the comment “does not reflect the views” of Trump or his campaign.

The Harris campaign pounced on the joke, with the vice president pointing to the comment as a sign that Trump is “fanning the fuel to divide Americans.”

Her views were echoed by Puerto Rican celebrities Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom supported Harris on Sunday.

A campaign official told CBS, the BBC’s US affiliate, that the controversy was a political gift to Democrats.

Some Puerto Rican residents agree with that assessment.

“(The joke) just put it in the pocket for us. He literally just gave us the win,” said Harris supporter Jessie Ramos. “He has no idea how much the Latino community will support Kamala Harris.”

Residents of Puerto Rico – an American island territory in the Caribbean – cannot vote in the presidential elections, but the large diaspora in the US can.

Across Pennsylvania, about 600,000 eligible voters are Latino.

More than 470,000 of them are Puerto Ricans — one of the largest concentrations in the country and a potential game-changer in a state where polls show Harris and Trump in an extremely tight race.

North Philadelphia in particular was a target for Harris, who made a campaign stop Sunday at Freddy & Tony’s, a Puerto Rican restaurant and community center in Fairhill.

The same day, Harris unveiled a new policy platform for Puerto Rico, which promised economic development and improved disaster relief, and accused Trump of “abandoning and insulting” the island during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Whether this will sway Puerto Rican voters remains to be seen.

Freddy & Tony’s owner Dalma Santiago told the BBC that she is not sure if the joke will make a difference, but that she believed the joke was heard “loud and clear” in Fairhill and other Puerto Rican communities.

“Everyone has their own opinion,” she told the BBC. “But no one will forget that.”

Similarly, Moses Santana, a 13-year U.S. Army veteran who works at a harm reduction facility in Fairhill, said he’s unsure of the joke’s impact.

In an interview with the BBC on a street corner in Fairhill, Mr Santana said the area has traditionally been wary of politicians of all kinds, with many believing both parties have failed to tackle socio-economic issues, crime and drug abuse. to take.

“People around here often don’t get what they ask for,” he added. “Even if they vote.”

On Tuesday, Trump will campaign in Allentown, a city of about 125,000 in central Pennsylvania, where about 33,000 people identify as Puerto Rican.

But even among Trump supporters in Pennsylvania’s broader Latino community, the joke was poorly received.

That included Republican voter Jessenia Anderson, a Puerto Rican resident of the city of Johnstown, about 240 miles (386 kilometers) west of Philadelphia.

Ms. Anderson, a military veteran who was born in New York’s heavily Puerto Rican Lower East Side, is a frequent visitor to Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.

She described the joke as “deeply offensive” and said the routine felt “extremely out of place” — and implored her fellow Republicans to engage in “thoughtful and respectful conversations.”

But Ms. Anderson has no plans to change her vote.

“My belief in the party’s potential to make a positive impact remains strong,” she said.

“I hope they will approach Latino voters with the respect they deserve.”