Actor and singer Jennifer Lopez has hit out at comments made during a Trump rally about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of garbage”, saying: “You can’t even spell American without Rican.”
The Get Right singer gave an emotional speech on Thursday as she introduced Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who spent the day campaigning in the Western battleground states of Arizona and Nevada.
Speaking at the rally in Las Vegas, Lopez said she was “an American woman” and a “proud daughter and son of Puerto Rico”.
“I am Puerto Rican,” she said, adding: “And yes I was born here and we are Americans.
“I am a mother, I am a sister I am an actor and an entertainer and I like Hollywood and things.. I like when the good guy or in this case the good girl wins.
“And with an understanding of our past and a faith in our future, I will be casting my ballot for Kamala Harris for president of the United States proudly.”
Lopez, known as J Lo, rejected comments made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage”.
“You can’t even spell American without Rican,” she said. “This is our country too.”
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Mr Hincliffe came under fire over his comments at the rally on Sunday, where he also said “these Latinos, they love making babies” and made crude remarks about their attitude to family planning methods before Mr Trump took to the stage. The Trump campaign distanced itself from the comments.
The star is the latest in a string of celebrities, including Beyonce and Michelle Obama, to make an appearance at a Harris campaign rally.
Ms Harris and Mr Trump spent Thursday courting Hispanic voters on trips to Nevada, the smallest of the seven swing states expected to play a decisive role in Tuesday’s US presidential election.
Hispanics represent about 30% of Nevada’s population and Hispanic voters have traditionally been an area of strength for Democrats.
Former president Mr Trump, however, has been gaining ground in the nationally and religiously diverse US Latino population.
Nationally, Mr Trump had the support of 38% of registered Hispanic voters in a series of Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted
this month.
Ms Harris’s share of Hispanic voters was at 50%.
Before setting out on yesterday’s rallies, Ms Harris hit out at Mr Trump’s remark about him protecting women whether they “like it or not”.
The vice president said the comments show her opponent does not understand women’s rights “to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies”.
“I think it’s offensive to everybody, by the way,” Ms Harris said.
At a rally Wednesday evening near Green Bay, Wisconsin, Mr Trump told his supporters that aides had urged him to stop using the term protector because it was “inappropriate”.
Then he added a new bit to the protector line. He said he told his aides: “Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.”