Trump at Mar-a-Lago criticizes Harris on border, economy
PALM BEACH - With one week to go before Election Day, former President Donald Trump is readying for a busy week.
On Tuesday morning, Trump delivered remarks at his Mar-a-Lago Resort in Palm Beach.
Trump used the event to criticize Harris' record on the border and the economy, saying that, "On issue after issue, she broke it" and "I'm going to fix it and fix it very fast."
With just a week before Election Day, some Trump allies have voiced alarm that the event, which was supposed highlight his closing message, has instead served as a distraction, highlighting voters' concerns about his rhetoric and penchant for controversy in the race's closing stretch.
The event comes just two days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's crude jokes about Puerto Rico overshadowed Trump's Madison Square Garden rally.
There are around 300,000 eligible Puerto Rican voters in the Keystone state.
Hinchcliffe called the U.S. territory a "floating island of garbage" and joked that Latinos "love making babies."
Angelo Ortega, a longtime Allentown resident and former Republican who's planning to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris this time around, said he couldn't believe what he'd heard about Trump's rally.
"I don't know if my jaw dropped or I was just so irritated, angry. I didn't know what to feel," said Ortega, who was born in New York but whose father came from Puerto Rico. Ortega has been campaigning for Harris and said he knows of at least one Hispanic GOP voter planning to switch from Trump to Harris as a result of Hinchcliffe's comments.
"They've had it. They've had it. They were listening to (Trump), but they said they think that that was like the straw that broke the camel's back," said Ortega, a member of the Make the Road PA advocacy group.
Trump didn't mention what Hinchcliffe said.
Before his remarks, Trump said he didn't know the comic who delivered the most egregious insults, but he did not denounce them either. During an event later focused on seniors in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, he said "we love" the island and added "I think no president's done more for Puerto Rico than I have."
The Trump campaign said the comments did not reflect Trump's views. But the damage may have been done. Hours after Hinchcliffe's racist jokes sparked backlash, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny threw his support to Harris.
Both candidates are fighting for the Latino vote, which has trended more Republican in recent years but still leans Democratic.
During his speech at Mar-a-Lago, Trump claimed "there's never been an event so beautiful" as his Sunday night rally in his hometown of New York City.
"The love in that room. It was breathtaking," he said. "It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved."
A mother whose daughter was raped and killed took that stage at Mar-a-Lago, saying the men who killer her daughter were gang members here illegally.
"The Biden Harris administration did not do their job," Tammy Nobles said. "If they would have done their job and made that one call to El Salvador my daughter would still be alive today."
For the second straight day, he took aim at former former first Michelle Obama, who recently campaigned with Harris.
"(She) was very nasty to me the other day. That was not nice. She said nasty things," he said.
On Wednesday, Trump has an afternoon rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, followed by an evening event in Green Bay, Wisconsin with Brett Favre.
He continues the week with stops in New Mexico, Nevada, Milwaukee and Virginia.