With a week before Election Day, former President Donald Trump rallied supporters in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"The fate of our nation is in your hands. It's in your hands. If we win Pennsylvania, we're going to win the whole deal,” Trump said, during a rally that offered a chance for the former president to appeal to Latino and Hispanic voters.
The voting coalition makes up significant parts of the electorate in battleground states like Pennsylvania. In Allentown in particular, more than half of the population is Hispanic or Latino. Pennsylvania also has a large Puerto Rican population.
“We’re getting support from Latinos like never before,” the former president said, adding, “Nobody loves our Puerto Rican community like I do.”
The lineup of speakers included Sen. Marco Rubio, who delivered a bilingual message, as well as Puerto Rico’s shadow senator.
But Trump was still dealing with criticism of his rally in Madison Square Garden in New York, which drew backlash over comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments characterizing Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."
RELATED STORY | Who is Tony Hinchcliffe? The comedian who called Puerto Rico 'floating garbage'
Trump allies and Trump himself have worked to distance themselves from the incident — Trump on Tuesday said he didn't know Hinchcliffe and called the New York rally an "absolute lovefest."
Carlos Trujillo, the former United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States and leader of Latino Americans for Trump and adviser to the campaign, told Scripps News on Monday the insult wasn't likely to sway too many voters.
"I don't think it's going to move the needle. I think Puerto Ricans, just like the majority of Hispanics and Americans, are going to vote based on the economy, the record and the issues that are important to them."
Gloria Vasquez cast her ballot next door to the rally Tuesday. She told Scripps News she was concerned about the comments being reported about her home island, but ultimately continued to support Trump.
“I don't want to just make my decision based on that comedian, and see what Donald Trump has to offer to this country,” she said, adding that it was “more valuable to me to make my decision.” But Vasquez also noted it could hurt Trump, based on the reaction she’s seen to the comedian's comments.
As it has been for much of the campaign, much of Trump's focus in the closing days has been on inflation, his tax and tariff plan, energy prices and immigration, parsing his argument with the question, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ while criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris over the issues.
"We will make America affordable again," Trump said. "I will massively cut taxes for workers and small businesses and we will have no tax on tips. No tax on overtime. And no tax on Social Security benefits for our seniors."
RELATED STORY | Harris gives final pitch to voters on the Ellipse at the National Mall
Trump's rally went on the same day that Harris addressed voters from the Ellipse on Washington D.C.'s National Mall, on the same spot where Trump, then president, held his Stop the Steal rally before the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"One week from today, you will have the chance to make a decision that directly impacts your life, the life of your family and the future of this country we love," Harris said. "And it will probably be the most important vote you ever cast."
