Harris campaign pounces on Trump rally " garbage" remarks in push for Latino vote

Going into nan last play earlier Election Day, nan Harris run is continuing to punctual voters of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's joke astatine a Trump rally past Sunday that referred to Puerto Rico arsenic an "island of garbage." 

A elder Harris run charismatic says soul information shows nan vice president is winning complete battleground voters "who person made up their minds successful nan past week" — and by a double-digit margin. The campaign, successful a telephone briefing pinch reporters, attributed voters' precocious break to Harris to nan antagonistic consequence to that joke, arsenic good arsenic to erstwhile President Donald Trump's convulsive rhetoric successful nan closing days of nan campaign, including his caller remark utilizing violent imagery to disparage erstwhile Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney.

"All of these things are breaking done to nan American group and successful nan closing days of his campaign, [Trump] is intelligibly focused, arsenic nan vice president has said, connected his 'enemies list,' which is getting longer," nan run charismatic said.

What was intended to beryllium a joke astir Puerto Rico spawned wide anger among Latinos, a captious voting bloc. Across battleground states, hundreds person signed up to unpaid for nan run since Sunday. Celebrities pinch millions of followers, for illustration Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, publically announced their support for Harris this past week. Spanish-language newspapers person besides endorsed nan vice president. Latino organizations person besides stepped successful to thief pinch section operations to mobilize nan undecided voters. 

According to Harris run officials, portion of nan caller maturation crossed nan battleground states stems from Puerto Rican voters, galore of whom unrecorded successful Pennsylvania. 

Pennsylvania, pinch its 19 electoral votes, is location to complete 1 cardinal Latinos and much than 472,000 are of Puerto Rican descent. In a tied title that will beryllium wished by nan slimmest of margins, nan Latino ballot is highly coveted.

Sarah Michitsch, a Puerto Rican elector surviving successful Pennsylvania, told CBS News she initially had not planned to be nan Harris run rally successful Harrisburg Wednesday, but was motivated aft nan incendiary remarks astatine nan Trump rally. 

"I've ever voted Democrat," she said. "I was gonna ballot Democrat, regardless, but it motivated maine to get up, put my emblem on, and travel present today." 

Puerto Rican flags were scattered crossed nan crowd astatine nan Harris rally. Many of her supporters expressed passion for their roots and disdain for nan jokes directed toward nan island. 

"You conscionable gave america much Latino power, much Hispanic power," Natalie Dozier, who is of Puerto Rican descent, told CBS News. She described nan Trump rally rhetoric arsenic "disturbing" and "devastating." 

"And to talk astir trash, we're gonna return retired nan trash connected Election Day," Dozier said.

In nan aftermath of nan contention complete nan joke, a Trump elder advisor was speedy to explain that nan jokes had not been vetted aliases approved successful beforehand and said they were not a reflection of Trump aliases his campaign.

The erstwhile president has been trying to take sides his position among Puerto Ricans. At a roundtable Tuesday successful Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, Trump claimed "no president has done much for Puerto Rico than I have" while he recounted helping nan land successful nan aftermath of Hurricane Maria successful 2017. "I sewage successful location and took attraction of a batch of people."

As president, Trump's visit to nan island aft nan hurricane is possibly remembered astir for his extremity astatine a church, wherever he tossed insubstantial towels to victims of nan hurricane. At nan time, 2 weeks aft nan storm, 90% of nan land had nary power, and galore had nary water. Trump besides withheld $20 cardinal successful hurricane assistance for 3 years, arguing nan money would conscionable beryllium funneled into paying disconnected nan island's debt. In 2020, six weeks earlier nan election, Trump released nan aid.

The governmental limb of 1 of nan largest Latino civilian authorities organizations, UnidosUS Action Fund, is moving crossed Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona to thief mobilize Latino voters for Harris. Though nan group's executive director, Rafael Collazo, believes nan Sunday remarks are helping nan vice president, he stresses that nan group will support ratcheting up its "aggressive section operations" successful nan last days to thrust turnout among Latinos. 

"The situation we will person is that a number of undecided Latino voters are very difficult to scope done accustomed channels," Collazo told CBS News, adding that campaigns must put heavy successful outreach including connection of mouth, telephone banking and doorway knocking. Since launching her statesmanlike campaign, Harris has released 15 ads targeting Latino voters. The latest, an entreaty to Puerto Rican voters, was released connected Thursday and responds to nan "garbage" Trump rally comment. The narrator says, "We are not trash" and goes connected to opportunity group successful Puerto Rico are scientists, poets, educators, stars, heroes. 

Over 500,000 bilingual telephone calls to Latinos person been made since August, according to a Harris run official, pinch nan thief of grassroots groups that person hosted telephone banks crossed battleground states. These calls will proceed up until Tuesday.

Both Harris and Trump are spending nan past days of nan run targeting Latino voters successful Pennsylvania, among different stops. The 2 candidates will some extremity successful Reading, a metropolis pinch a organization that is complete 69% Latino. On Monday, Harris will besides rally successful Allentown pinch Latinos, who dress up complete 54% of nan population. 

Kathryn Watson and Allison Novelo contributed to this report.

In:
• Kamala Harris
• Donald Trump
• Tony Hinchcliffe