Former President Donald Trump’s silence amid outrage at his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday could be fatal to his presidential campaign, according to experts and analysts.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the US territory of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during a New York City event on Sunday, prompting backlash from Latin Americans.
While Trump campaign senior adviser Daniel Alvarez said in a statement that “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” the former president spoke to ABC News on Tuesday, saying only that Hinchcliffe did not “know”.
Hinchcliffe’s joke and Trump’s failure to fully address it have prompted some to argue that the moment was effectively the Trump campaign’s self-proclaimed “October Surprise” — a term that would Used to describe an event that could change the outcome of a presidential election.
Trump did not address the joke during Tuesday’s press conference at Mar-a-Lago. He will get another chance during Tuesday night’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city with the largest Puerto Rican population in a critical battleground state.
said Gustavo Torres, executive director of the Latino advocacy group CASA Newsweek In a call with national Latino leaders on Tuesday, Trump’s rally won’t win him back any votes he lost over his Puerto Rico remarks.
“He needs to apologize to the Puerto Rican community, the Latino community, and he’s not doing that,” Torres said. “Even if he is sorry, I guarantee you that the Puerto Rican community, our members in Pennsylvania and Georgia, will never forget.”
“I believe it was an October surprise for the Latino community,” he added. “This is an October surprise for the Puerto Rican community. And we’re going to share it every single day from now until November 5th.”
Political analyst Craig Agranoff said Newsweek The “negative feedback” Trump is getting about the New York rally was “significant” and could represent a “turning point” just a week before Election Day.
“Given the timing, this reaction could really turn into an ‘October surprise,'” Agranov said. “The polarizing effect of the rally can mobilize its detractors as much as its supporters, resulting in a strong public response. Whether the event becomes a turning point depends on what comes next. How is it managed in weeks.”
“If negative perceptions grow, it may focus on his more controversial aspects, potentially affecting his broader appeal going into the latter part of the campaign,” he added.
Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan de Puerto Rico demanded on Monday that Trump “personally” apologize for allowing Hinchcliffe to make jokes at his rally. Puerto Rico’s Republican Party leader, Angel Centron, has said he will not vote for Trump without an apology.
Political analyst Larry Sabato said during a Tuesday CNN appearance that he didn’t expect Trump to apologize because the former president “never apologizes for anything.” He also referred to it. rally at Madison Square Garden as a potential “October surprise.”
“I think there’s some potential on Sunday, not just because of the alleged comedian, but because of other things that have been said and done and things that haven’t been said and done — it could be an October surprise. Sabato said. . “It really can. It’s having an effect.”
During an appearance on CNN on Monday, Geraldo Rivera, a veteran Puerto Rican-American journalist and former friend of Trump’s, said he believed the joke was “an attempt to destroy President Trump’s climate campaign for re-election.” will become famous.”
“I think the polls, the polls will show that this was the time, this was the moment where things turned on Donald Trump,” Rivera said. “There is no reason why a Latin American should vote for Donald Trump… He has disqualified himself by surrounding himself with hateful, ugly rhetoric.”