Trump praises Latinos and Puerto Ricans at rally in Pennsylvania after joke controversy

Former President Donald Trump praised Latinos during his rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Tuesday evening after receiving criticism over a joke made about Puerto Rico at a previous rally.

Allentown is a majority Latino city, with nearly a third of the population composed of Puerto Rican people.

'Nobody likes our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community like I do.'

The Harris campaign pounced on comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at the former president's rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as an island of garbage and made other racially tinged comments at the event. The Trump campaign distanced itself from the comedian after the backlash.

The campaign said various Puerto Rican speakers would speak at the Allentown rally. One of those was Zoraida Buxó, Puerto Rico's shadow senator, who endorsed Trump.

"With everything that is going on and will happen during the final stretch, it’s easy to get distracted or misled by propaganda, emotional manipulation, and distortion of the truth and the facts," Buxó said. "We need change, and Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are not the option to bring about the kind of change that you need and want and certainly not the strong leadership that the U.S. needs during these times of turmoil.

Cuban-American Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida also addressed the rally before Trump gave his speech.

"I will protect our workers. I will protect our jobs. I will protect our borders. I will protect our families. And I will protect the birthright of our children to live in the richest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth," said Trump to loud applause.

Trump brought Buxó onto the stage next to him, and she reiterated her endorsement.

"We need this man back in the White House! We need this man to be commander in chief!" she said.

"Nobody likes our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community like I do," Trump added after she stepped away.

He went on to say that no other president in U.S. history had done as much as he had done for Puerto Ricans.

A handful of protesters demonstrated outside the rally against Trump. Actor Martin Sheen also appeared at a small Harris event near the rally and sang "America the Beautiful" for the cameras.

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