Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Healey releases statement supporting Mass. Puerto Ricans following racist Trump rally remarks
“I want all 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 on Monday condemning the racist remarks about Puerto Ricans made during a rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
During the rally for the Republican presidential candidate, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and made other lewd and racist comments about Latino, Jewish, and Black people.
“This is the kind of hateful, divisive and disgusting 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 to have a strong, vibrant Puerto Rican community.”
Advertisement:
“The over 300,000 Puerto Ricans who live in Massachusetts are essential to the fabric of our state,” Healey said. “They are our business owners, health care workers, students, elected and community leaders, and veterans who bravely served our country. Here in Massachusetts, we are fittingly home to the nation’s first memorial dedicated to Puerto Rican veterans.”
The governor pointed to the state’s veteran’s secretary, Jon Santiago, as “one of those veterans.”
Santiago, who was born in Puerto Rico, is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve and an emergency room doctor. 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 “resolve to fight for that better, more inclusive America.”
Advertisement:
“I want all 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 that 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 at the Trump rally were immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign, and the Trump campaign has distanced itself from Hinchcliffe’s remarks.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com