Politics

“I want all of our children to grow up in a country that welcomes and celebrates the contributions of the Puerto Rican community.”

Gov. Maura Healey released a statement Monday condemning racist comments about Puerto Ricans made during a rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening.

At the rally for the Republican presidential nominee, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” and made other lewd and racist comments about Latino, Jewish and black people.

“This is the type of hateful, divisive and abhorrent language that Donald Trump and JD Vance foster and allow to permeate this country,” Healey said in a statement blasting the comments.

In her statement, Healey said the Bay State is “proud of a strong, vibrant Puerto Rican community.”

“The more than 300,000 Puerto Ricans who live in Massachusetts are essential to the fabric of our state,” Healey said. “They are our business owners, healthcare workers, students, elected and community leaders, and veterans who have courageously served our country. Here in Massachusetts, we are fittingly home to the nation’s first monument dedicated to Puerto Rican veterans.”

The governor called the state’s veteran secretary, Jon Santiago, “one of those veterans.”

Santiago, a native of Puerto Rico, is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and an emergency room physician. He shared on X that he and his wife welcomed their second child on Sunday, the same day as Trump’s rally.

Healey urged voters to help elect Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to “decide to fight for that better, more inclusive America.”

“I want all of our children to grow up in a country that welcomes and celebrates the contributions of the Puerto Rican community,” Healey said. “I want them to have a president who brings people together and focuses on what unites us all as Americans. I want them to see our leaders act with love for their country, with empathy for others, and with an unwavering commitment to protecting the freedoms of all.”

The comments about Puerto Rico during the Trump rally were immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign, and the Trump campaign has distanced itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments.

Information from the Associated Press was used for this report.