The Trump campaign is struggling to contain an October surprise of its own making, just one week from Election Day.

A racist remark by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, one of many warm-up speakers for former President Trump at a Sunday rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden, is reverberating hard.

Vice President Harris and other Democrats are working to make sure the gibe reaches the ears of as many Latino voters as possible — especially in the swing states that will decide the election.

Republicans, including Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), are trying to minimize the damage — either by distancing themselves from what Hinchcliffe said or by suggesting that a remark made in jest should not spark such outrage.

At the rally, Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” He also used other racist tropes including a reference to Black people and watermelons, and a crude reference linking procreation and immigration.

The comments were slammed as offensive in their own right. But they could also have serious electoral repercussions.

More than 400,000 people born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent live in Pennsylvania, the largest of the seven battleground states. The state is essentially deadlocked, with Trump leading Harris by just four-tenths of a percentage........

© The Hill