Jennifer Lopez has a message for voters, days after speakers spewed racist rhetoric at a Donald Trump rally in New York City: The former Republican president showed Americans who he really is.
The singer and actor delivered an emotional speech in support of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s 2024 rival for the White House, at a Thursday event in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Lopez called out wildly problematic jokes made Sunday by Trump rally speaker Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
Hinchcliffe and others at Madison Square Garden also made xenophobic remarks, as well as racist comments about Black people, Palestinians and Jewish people.
“At Madison Square Garden, he [Trump] reminded us who he really is and how he really feels,” Lopez said on Thursday. “It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day. It was every Latino in this country. It was humanity and anyone of decent character.”
“I am an American woman,” she later said. “I am the daughter of Guadalupe Rodríguez and David Lopez, a proud daughter and son of Puerto Rico.”
“We are Americans,” she added.
Anadolu via Getty Images
Elsewhere in her speech, Lopez fought back tears as she encouraged people to vote.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t get emotional. But you know what? You know what? We should be emotional. We should be upset. We should be scared and outraged. We should,” she said.
“Our pain matters. We matter. You matter,” she continued. “Your voice and your vote matters.”
The Trump campaign faced swift backlash after the New York rally.
This week, Puerto Rican celebrities such as Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin pushed back against the rhetoric from the Republican’s event. Actor Aubrey Plaza, who has Puerto Rican heritage, similarly decried Hinchcliffe’s “disgusting remark.”
Meanwhile, Trump has tried to distance himself from the stand-up. His team has said that the “garbage” joke “does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
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But the former president has also downplayed the racist and problematic rhetoric from his event.
On Tuesday, he described the New York City rally as “an absolute lovefest.”
English (US) ·