SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A comic strip Rather call Puerto Rico trash a packed Donald Trump meeting in New York was the latest humiliation for an island territory that has long suffered abuse, residents said Monday in expressions of anger that could influence the presidential election.

Puerto Ricans cannot vote in general elections despite being U.S. citizens, but they can exert powerful influence over relatives on the mainland. Phones across the island of 3.2 million people rang minutes after the speaker mocked the American territory They were still buzzing Sunday night, and Monday.

Democratic vice president Kamala Harris competes with Trump Winning over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states. Shortly after stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said: ‘I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of rubbish in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,’ Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny announced his support for Harris.

Hinchcliffe’s set also included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and black people, all key constituencies in the election.

Non-voters with great influence

Milagros Serrano, 81, has a son who lives in the swing state of Pennsylvania and said the entire family was outraged by the comedian’s comments.

“He can’t talk about Puerto Rico like that,” she said as she left for a medical appointment. “He’s the one who’s a piece of trash.”

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1917 and the first major wave of migration occurred after World War II to alleviate labor shortages. There are now more Puerto Ricans in the US than on the island.

Those left behind say they often feel like second-class citizens because they cannot vote in presidential elections and receive limited federal funding compared to U.S. states.

That festering resentment erupted when Trump next visited Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria In 2017, the island collapsed as a powerful Category 4 storm. He threw paper towels into a crowd and denied the storm’s official death toll, with experts estimating that nearly 3,000 people died in the blistering aftermath.

José Acevedo, a 48-year-old health care worker from San Juan, shook his head as he recalled the feelings that coursed through him as he watched the Sunday meeting.

“What humiliation, what discrimination!” he said early Monday as he waited for the public bus to work.

Acevedo said he immediately texted relatives in New York, including an uncle who is a Republican and planned to vote for Trump.

“He told me he had to analyze his decision,” Acevedo said, adding that his relatives were in shock. “They couldn’t believe it.”

Angry reaction at home

The comments dominated local news sites well into the night and prompted Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress for the pro-statehood New Progressive Party and a Trump supporter, to call them “despicable, misleading and disgusting.”

“They do not represent the values ​​of the Republican Party,” she said.

Politics in Puerto Rico is determined by the island’s political status, so it is common for Democrats and Republicans to be members of the same local party.

Meanwhile, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, a Democrat, wrote on Facebook: “Trash is what came out of Tony Hinchcliffe’s mouth, and anyone who applauded him should be ashamed of themselves for disrespecting Puerto Rico.”

Gonzalez, who defeated Pierluisi in their party’s primariesis leading in the polls as the November 5 elections approach.

Sonia Pérez, a 58-year-old parking attendant, said she hasn’t voted for a governor in years, but is so angry about the comedian’s comments and González’s support for Trump that she plans to vote for González and the other candidate the two represents rejecting. main parties that have dominated in Puerto Rico for a long time.

“It’s outrageous that there is so much racism against Latinos in the 21st century when we have contributed so much to the country and it goes unrecognized,” she said.

Disbelief and outrage

Hinchcliffe’s comments also prompted responses from Puerto Rican stars, including Ricky Martin, who previously endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. He posted a video of the crude joke and wrote: “This is what they think of us.”

Outraged Puerto Ricans posted photos of their island and its clear blue waters on social media with captions like: “I live where you vacation” and “Proud to be from garbage island.”

Michael Meléndez Ortiz, a 33-year-old unemployed janitor, said he and a friend initially thought the video was fake because they were so surprised by what the comedian said.

“We need to be respected,” he said. “We are good and sincere people.”