Jennifer Lopez says “every Latino in this country” was offended by Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden

CNN
—

Jennifer Lopez, who campaigned with Kamala Harris in Nevada on Thursday, said Donald Trump's campaign insulted “every Latino in this country” when he mocked a comedian about Puerto Rico at a rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The pop star and actress' comments at Harris' rally in Las Vegas came as outrage reverberates over the pro-Trump comedian's description of the US island territory of Puerto Rico – where Lopez's parents were born – as a “floating “Island made of garbage”.

“At Madison Square Garden, he reminded us of who he really is and how he really feels,” Lopez said of Trump. “It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans who were offended that day, okay? It was every Latino in this country, it was humanity and everyone of decent character.”

Harris' stop in Las Vegas with Lopez came during a drive through the hotly contested western battlegrounds of Arizona and Nevada – where CNN polls released earlier this week showed extremely close races with no clear front-runner.

The vice president has lined up a growing list of celebrities and musicians with large social media followings in the final days of the race as her campaign aims to win over key constituencies – including black voters in Georgia and Latinos in the West. That list ranges from music legends Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen, who performed at Harris events in Georgia, to the stars of Marvel's “Avengers” films, who supported the vice president on social media Thursday.

But the most impactful support may come from Puerto Rican stars like Lopez, who have become more vocal since Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden.

“This is our country too,” Lopez said Thursday evening.

At some point she fought back tears.

“You know what? We should be emotional. We should be upset. We should be scared and outraged. We should. Our pain matters. We matter,” Lopez said. “Your voice and your voice matter.”

Other Puerto Rican celebrities have also made critical comments about Trump in recent days.

Bad Bunny, one of the biggest Latin music stars in the world, shared Harris' platform for Puerto Rico on social media on Sunday. And reggaeton star Nicky Jam, who previously appeared on stage with Trump, withdrew his support for the former president, saying: “Puerto Rico should be respected.”

Trump has long sought to gain traction with black and Latino men. Particularly in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, a significant portion of the rapidly growing Latino population is of Puerto Rican descent.

Harris' campaign launched a Spanish-language ad Thursday aimed at reaching Latino voters and highlighting comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's remark at the Trump rally.

“Puerto Rico is an island of scientists, poets, educators, stars and heroes,” the ad’s narrator says in Spanish. “We are not trash, we are more.”

The Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, with Trump campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez saying in a statement after the rally: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

And Trump's campaign has sought to draw attention to another “garbage” remark – namely President Joe Biden's comment Tuesday night that many interpreted as him calling Trump supporters “trash.” (The White House and Biden quickly sought to clarify the comment, saying the president was referring to “supporters,” as in the comedian and the rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally.)

Harris said in Las Vegas that Trump was “all about hate and division.” She said if re-elected, he would reinstate policies that have resulted in migrant families being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lopez repeatedly said Harris “gets it” — and said she understands what it means for immigrant families to pursue the American dream because her parents are also immigrants.

She also said she believes “in the power of women.”

“Women have the power to make a difference in this election,” Lopez said.

The singer's comments came on the same day that Harris echoed Trump's remark the night before in Wisconsin that he would protect women “whether women like it or not.” He said he would protect them “from incoming migrants” and “from abroad with missiles and many other things.”

The vice president told reporters Thursday that Trump's comment was “very offensive to women because they do not understand their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies.”

She pointed to Trump's appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped overturn national protections for abortion rights through Roe v. to pick up Wade. Earlier this month, Trump said he would veto a nationwide abortion ban, but has waffled on the issue in the past, and many Republican-led states have passed their own restrictive laws.

Polls show there could be a historic gender divide in this year's election, with the majority of men supporting Trump and women supporting Harris – a fact that explains Harris' focus on an issue that has been growing since the Supreme Court's passage Court's decision in 2022 has proven strong with voters, particularly women.

While campaigning on Thursday in Reno, Nevada, Harris again brought up Trump's comments, which she called “outrageous.”

“This is someone who just doesn’t respect women’s freedom or women’s intelligence to make decisions about their own lives,” she said.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, Nikki Carvajal, Samantha Waldenberg, DJ Judd and Ebony Davis contributed to this report.