• In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday, Major Puerto Rican stars with tens of millions of social media followers have been throwing their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. On Wednesday, singer Nicky Jam, who endorsed Trump last month, renounced his support for the former president in a video to his supporters, citing the joke a comedian made at the rally about Puerto Rico being an ‘island of garbage.’ Adrian Carrasquillo, a national political reporter who writes about our increasingly Latino America, talks about the ongoing fallout from the MSG rally within the Puerto Rican community.
• And in headlines: Billionaire Elon Musk says Trump’s economic plans will come with some ‘hardship,’ Republicans revive talk of repealing Obamacare, and the U.S. Supreme Court says Virginia can keep purging its voter rolls.

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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Thursday, October 31st. Happy Halloween to those who celebrate. I’m Jane Coaston and this is What a Day. The show where we have already stress eaten the candy we’re supposed to hand out tonight. Do kids take Venmo? [music break] On today’s show, we deep dive into how Dems are leaning into using social media to get the word out. And Elon Musk thinks Donald Trump could bring some temporary hardship for everyday Americans, but that’s a good thing. Let’s get started. The backlash to Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally has been fierce. As I’ve talked about on the show, it featured a cavalcade of offensive comments from jokes about how cheap Jewish people are to a riff about how Latinos just have too many babies. But what stuck was a joke about how Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage. Major Puerto Rican artists with tens of millions of social media followers have since thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, chief among them, Bad Bunny. And on Wednesday, Nicky Jam walked back his previous endorsement of Trump in a video to his 40 million social media followers. [clip of Nicky Jam speaking in Spanish plays] He’s saying there, never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian was going to criticize my land and speak badly about my land. And for this, I renounce my support of Donald Trump and have stepped aside from any political position. But three days after the rally, Trump still will not apologize. In fact, he doesn’t know anything about it. A reporter even asked if he owed Puerto Rico a direct apology during a campaign stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. 

[clip of Donald Trump] I love Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico loves me. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about a comedian. I just I love Puerto Rico. Nobody’s done more for Puerto Rico than me. 

Jane Coaston: Sure. And Republicans tried their damndest on Wednesday to deflect attention from the ongoing fallout over Trump’s rally. Their vessel of choice was President Joe Biden and a comment he made in response to the rally’s racist rhetoric during a video conference call with Latino voters. 

[clip of President Joe Biden] The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His his demonization is seen as unconscionable. 

Jane Coaston: Biden released a statement on Twitter shortly after. He clarified that his comments were about the comedian’s hateful statement and not about all Trump supporters. A raging debate about apostrophes and possessive nouns ensued because, of course, it did. Just two days ago, vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance said that people are too easily offended. But all of a sudden, the Republicans seized on Biden’s alleged slight. Because if anyone cares about large groups of people being called mean names, it’s Republicans. Trump even mentioned it at his midday rally in North Carolina. 

[clip of Donald Trump] We’re garbage, we’re garbage. And I call you the heart and soul of America. You’re the people that built America. 

Jane Coaston: You’re not like those other people, you know, the enemies of the people. Harris responded to the manufactured outrage about Biden’s comments Wednesday ahead of her rallies in a bunch of swing states. 

[clip of Vice President Kamala Harris] Listen. I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments. But let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for. 

Jane Coaston: But while Republicans were trying to whip up their supporters, they still haven’t addressed the real anger they’re facing over the racist comments. Democrats have been on top of the blowback. One super-PAC said it would spend nearly $200,000 sending text messages to Puerto Rican voters in three major battleground states Michigan, Wisconsin, and most importantly, Pennsylvania, home to about half a million people of Puerto Rican descent. And Harris will be in Nevada today for a rally with another mega famous star with Puerto Rican roots, Jennifer Lopez. So for more on how all of this is reverberating among Latinos and the Puerto Rican community specifically, I spoke with Adrian Carrasquillo. He’s a national political reporter who writes about our increasingly Latino America. Adrian, welcome to What a Day. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: Hey, thanks for having me. 

Jane Coaston: So what kind of reaction have you seen to the Trump rally comments within the Puerto Rican community specifically and among Latinos more broadly? 

Adrian Carrasquillo: Everybody’s prideful. No one wants their culture to be hurt, to be hit, to be criticized, particularly [?] it’s such a big platform. I’m half Puerto Rican. My father is Puerto Rican. You know, there’s something about Puerto Ricans. There’s the century of colonialism. There’s this feeling, this connection of just they’re U.S. citizens, but they can’t vote in the presidential election. You know, they have these advantages. But when do we talk about Puerto Ricans? Has there been any meaningful policy in the last dozen years right, for Puerto Ricans and for Puerto Rico? No. So to be slapped in the face the week before the election. And I think that that’s what it was for a lot of people. I think it was a slap in the face. I think these reports come out and they were across the board terrible. There were comments about Black people, there were comments about Jews, there were comments about Latinos. So altogether, I think that that’s where we’ve seen this strong initial response that then led to the other stuff, the Bad Bunny endorsement. All those other things. 

Jane Coaston: So, of course, Trump has yet to personally apologize. He’s called the rally a love fest while trying to like back away from the comedian who was saying all of this like incredibly offensive stuff. To what extent is the doubling down also now part of how people are receiving these comments where it’s like it’s not just that this comedian made these comments. It’s the fact that no one’s apologizing despite, you know, the archbishop of Puerto Rico asking for an apology. The head of the Puerto Rican GOP asking for an apology. They’re just not getting it. How is that playing? 

Adrian Carrasquillo: And we saw that in the initial reports when there was Trump’s first rally and there was a woman in the crowd who told, I believe The Washington Post, I’m here to see if he apologizes. I’m not voting for him if he doesn’t apologize. It’s just the height of disrespect. And it’s so interesting because you see Republicans scrambling and praying and hoping to turn the page to try to move to Joe Biden’s comments. But then Nicky Jam, who was one of the two high profile endorsers, he’s a reggaeton artist. He posted today, [?] was going to happen. You have to respect for Puerto Rico. And that’s why I’m retracting my support of Donald Trump. And again, it brings it the news cycle back to this story. It’s been pretty incredible how it’s only seems to have grown after the criticism. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, it was funny because you mentioned Nicky Jam and we’ve seen, you know, Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, like so many big names. But collectively, do you think that these men have the power to push people who were maybe debating on whether to vote or who to vote for? Do you think that they can help get those people out to vote for Harris or even flip would be Trump voters to Harris? 

Adrian Carrasquillo: You know, because I know that my audience on Twitter is news obsessives. I was like, this is like the Taylor Swift or Beyonce of Latinos. And then I had a lot of people being like, that’s exactly who he is. So, look, this is a big deal. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: I would say that I’ve told friends and people who were interested in what I thought about this a month ago, the only person that could have an effect for Latino men, the only person that Puerto Ricans, I think that their endorsement would matter is and I said that because Bad Bunny has a reputation for defending Puerto Rico, for being there for Puerto Rico. And then what I heard was because I was on the phone with the Harris campaign when this happened and I tweeted, it was sort of like the office meme with Michael Scott running through the office

—

Jane Coaston: Like it’s happening. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: It’s happening. Yes. But they told me that there were some conversations before and Kamala Harris came out with her Puerto Rico policy. So I think they they were of the belief that he would share that policy that day. But just the confluence of events of it also coming after this extreme disrespect of Puerto Rico, that’s what no one could expect. And to answer your question on, could it have an effect? I think that he is literally the only person who would have an effect because he’s sort of respected. He’s got credibility and he’s not always cheerleading for Democrats. There are some people that early voted, but we’ve seen in interviews and stuff people saying that we’re undecided or we’re going to vote on Election Day, that this would have an effect on their vote. 

Jane Coaston: But if you’re a voter whose main issue is the economy and you think that Trump is the better candidate on that issue, as polls show many voters do. Why do you think that these comments, especially like most people haven’t heard of this comedian, why do you think that that would sway them? I mean, I think it would sway me, but I’m biased. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: No, and I think Latinos are not a monolithic vote in this country. 

Jane Coaston: Right. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: About two thirds of them are Mexican-American. And we see that in larger parts in the West Coast and the southwest. But he also said horrible things about Latinos and how they’re always having babies here. So

— 

Jane Coaston: Uh. Yeah, that was that was really gross. And I think I’ve just been thinking about how, like nine years ago Trump comes down the golden escalator and starts talking about how Mexicans are rapists. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: I think what it does is it underlines because what what happened with those initial comments is I know so many people, friends, operatives, Democrats, different people and casual political folks who were horrified by those initial comments. But I think they leaned more Mexican-American because I remember being in Florida and different places where Cuban-Americans or other people would say, he’s not talking about me. There are many Latinos like myself and others who have a pan Latino version of Latino identity where they know that, um you know, you’re talking badly about immigrants or you’re talking badly about people who speak Spanish. We sort of can hear what you’re doing there. And the dog whistle here what you have is Puerto Ricans and in particular in Pennsylvania, we both know that there’s not that many undecided voters at this time. But Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by 80,000 votes. And this state is going to be one of the deciders of the election. And so to the extent that there can be something in the late game here, and we know that endorsements don’t have the most power, I think that this one, this confluence of events, both events, I think matters. 

Jane Coaston: In these final days of this race. What are you going to be watching for? 

Adrian Carrasquillo: I am particularly watching for I’ve covered Latino politics over the last decade, and I’m really, really interested and focused on Arizona and Nevada, because there has seemed to be behind the scenes, Democrats and pollsters and members of the campaign who have been talking less about Arizona and Nevada to me. You know, in 2020, Brookings Institute wrote that young latinos helped Joe Biden win in Nevada and Arizona. That’s incredible. We both know that Joe Biden only won Arizona by 11,000 votes and maybe that was going to swing back or it was going to be very difficult for Democrats win. But Nevada, Barack Obama won Nevada by 12 points in 2012. That state has become only closer and closer. And so those states and what I’m looking at particularly in those two states is Latino men, support from Latino men. I think that that could be a difference maker. You could have a really interesting situation where maybe Harris wins Pennsylvania and maybe Trump wins some of these other states, which I think would be monumental, would be a big deal if Democrats lose those states. 

Jane Coaston: Adrian, thank you so much for your time and thanks for joining me. 

Adrian Carrasquillo: Thank you for having me. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with national political reporter Adrian Carrasquillo. We’ll get to more news in a moment. But if you like the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. [music break]

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Jane Coaston: And now, more news. 

[sung] Headlines. 

[clip of Donald Trump] Elon, you’re a genius. You are a genius. You are right. He is special. He is special. 

Jane Coaston: If you’ve listened to a Trump rally recently, you know there is a true bromance happening between the former president and billionaire Elon Musk. 

[clip of Donald Trump] And you know what he wants more than anything else? For our country to be really well-run, solidly run, to be run democratically, all the things that everybody in this room wants. 

Jane Coaston: During an interview with the Economic Club last month, Trump announced that he is creating a government efficiency commission with Musk at the helm. And while the thought of Musk having even more sway over our government is terrifying to me, Musk comments at a Twitter townhall Friday, where somehow worse. 

[clip of Elon Musk] We’ll have to reduce spending to live within our means, that necessarily [?]’s some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long term prosperity. 

Jane Coaston: Our means? What do you mean our? And temporary hardship for whom? Because I’m going to guess that somehow the world’s richest man is going to be just fine. But that’s not all. Monday afternoon, a Twitter user predicted what would happen with Musk helping Trump, writing, quote, “There will be an initial severe overreaction in the economy.” Musk’s response quote, “sounds about right.” So don’t worry, Musk and Trump are going to tank the economy. But if you sit tight, it’ll maybe be better in the end. Maybe. Great plan, guys. Remember the fight over Obamacare? Sure you do. It sucked. And some Republicans say they’d love to do it again. NBC has released footage of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson speaking at a small campaign event for Donald Trump in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Monday. 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] I mean health care reform is going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive first hundred days agenda, we got a lot of things that are on the table. But health care, [banter] that’s part of the secret. [banter]

Jane Coaston: Among other things, Johnson said that if elected, Trump would, quote, “take a blowtorch to the regulatory state.” And he had this to say about the Affordable Care Act. 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] And so health care is one of the sectors, but we need this across the board. And Trump’s going to go big. I mean, he’s only going to have one more term right? Can’t run for reelection. And so he’s going to be thinking about legacy and we’re going to [?] fix these things. 

[clip of unknown speaker] No, no. Obamacare.? 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] No Obamacare. [banter] The ACA is so deeply ingrained. We need massive reform to make this work. And um we got a lot of ideas on how to do that. 

Jane Coaston: You might remember that Trump tried and failed to repeal the ACA the last time he was president, a move that resulted in his lowest polling numbers of his entire presidency, which is saying a lot because remember the Trump presidency? An update to a story we brought you earlier this week. The United States Supreme Court intervened on Wednesday to allow Virginia to continue purging its voter rolls. Governor Glenn Youngkin says the purge is meant to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority made a decision to allow the removal of voters to continue over the dissent of the court’s three liberal justices. Youngkin reacted to the news at a press conference on Wednesday. 

[clip of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin] And, well, of course, that just provides further comfort across the Commonwealth that this election will be secure, it will be accurate. It will reflect the will of the voters. 

Jane Coaston: The upside is that Virginia has same day voter registration so wrongly purged voters can still exercise their right to vote in this election. In more election lawsuit news, on Wednesday, the Trump campaign had a victory in Pennsylvania. A judge sided with Trump’s team, allowing a one day extension for people to apply in person for an early mail in ballot. Trump’s encouragement of his supporters to vote early in Bucks County led to long lines as voters flooded the registration sites, which the campaign claimed was disenfranchisement. Bucks County voters will now have until end of day Friday to get their mail in ballots. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing on Wednesday that troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Russian uniforms are moving toward the Ukrainian border. 

[clip of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin] We’re closely tracking the unprecedented level of direct military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK. In our meetings today, we shared our deep concerns about the deployment of DPRK troops to Russia. We also discuss how we’re going to work together with our allies and partners to respond to this dangerous and destabilizing escalation. 

Jane Coaston: The increased troop activity comes as North Korea and Russia develop a closer relationship. U.S. officials are concerned about the effect of the country’s involvement in Russia’s war with Ukraine, as well as what aid North Korea might be receiving in return and increased tensions with neighboring South Korea. And that’s the news. [music break] One more thing. We talk a lot about what’s happening at every stop on the campaign trail across the country with rally after rally. But we can’t forget about how much campaigning is happening online. Democrats know that viral content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, pick your poison goes a long way in getting the party’s message out, especially with young voters. We saw this through the Biden administration’s partnership with several influencers and content creators over the past few years. The Democratic National Committee, also, for the very first time, gave more than 200 content creators special access to their convention in August. So to get a sense of what things look like on the digital campaign trail in these final days before the election, I went to the TikTok queen of politics, Annie Henry. She is a digital political strategist who famously worked on Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s successful campaign in 2022, as his TikTok manager. Annie, thanks for coming on What a Day. 

Annie Henry: Thank you for having me. 

Jane Coaston: So I want to talk a little bit about X, formally Twitter. The Washington Post reported that ever since Elon Musk took over, Republican messaging is getting more traction, more followers, and that’s what’s really getting pushed. Have you noticed a difference or a change in how that works? 

Annie Henry: I think that it’s really clear where he stands in this election, and I think it does raise a lot of concerns on what information he is allowing to perpetuate, what information he is potentially suppressing, what misinformation he is allowing to be shared, some of it being blatantly harmful information or rhetoric that is being amplified. I am still on Twitter um and I will continue to call it that. Uh but like– 

Jane Coaston: Agreed, agreed. 

Annie Henry: It is not what it was before. I know that like the people that I’m reaching or what I’m also being fed is not for me. And that is just because of, I think, what he has done to the platform. Organic reach and mobilization is a lot more fragmented than it potentially was prior, his cooking of certain numbers because he is, you know, amplifying things from the back end. He’s doing that to try to show this cooked way of support that isn’t actually there. I don’t know how effective it is in the political kind of landscape still, but I do think communities and online communities are still really present there. And because the community is organizing within itself, it is hopefully still hitting those eyeballs. We just have to be more creative and innovative with how and where we’re utilizing them and in what ways to make sure we’re creatively reaching out to the people we know need to hear it. 

Jane Coaston: I want to talk to you a little bit about that outrage, because one of the voting blocs Democrats are really focused on are centrists who can be persuaded to go for Harris. But we know that social media algorithms are geared to show users content, especially political content that is either something they already really agree with or something that’s going to piss them off. How do you square that? Or rather, is that a function that social media campaigning is kind of meant to serve? How do you work within how the algorithms work? 

Annie Henry: I think there’s algorithms that, you know, obviously it likes things like confrontation, but I think there’s also a lot of ways that the algorithms can work in our favor. We know that people like personal, and that is like what social media and particularly TikTok thrives off of is people being vulnerable. And that is something that in politics and with so many of these issues, they are things that people can get vulnerable and share about. And I think we are seeing that. You know, there was a recent video that was going viral about young people hearing the Access Hollywood tape for the first time. And one we forget that so many of these young people perhaps don’t remember when that came out and maybe did not even hear it. We’re seeing them take these really vulnerable moments and share about why they’re voting this way or that part of their identity will be put at risk if they don’t. And I think that that really resonates. Also, having mass amounts of people do it. And uh so much of the Internet is about these trends and about people wanting to feel included. And we are really doing that with this election of people wanting to be involved in democracy. Like caring about shit is cool. Well, you just got to be creative and innovative and we are smart enough to figure it out. 

Jane Coaston: I agree. Annie, thank you so much for joining me. 

Annie Henry: Yeah, of course. Thank you. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with digital political strategist Annie Henry. [music break] Before we go, If you care about the planet or even some of the people on it, stick around to the end of this episode for another Crooked Ideas Anti Doom Initiative conversation spotlighting the people who are fighting for our planet. Today, our friend Crooked correspondent Priyanka Aribindi sat down with climate scientist Dr. Ticora Jones to talk about the simple ways we can all impact the climate movement. Even if you don’t have a science background. Stay tuned at the end to hear the conversation. [music break] That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a review. Don’t let Elon Musk make your country’s economic decisions or help you have kids and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading and not just transcripts of Mike Johnson saying the horrible quiet part out loud like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston and Happy Halloween you crazy kids. [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. Our producer is Michell Eloy. We had production help today from Tyler Hill, Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. [music break]

Priyanka Aribindi: Before you go, check out my interview with climate scientist Dr. Ticora V. Jones. This is part of the Anti Doom Initiative from Crooked Ideas. I’m Priyanka Aribindi, and I asked Dr. Jones about what makes her hopeful in the face of climate change. So you are a scientist by trade. You spent a lot of your career working on policy, trying to tackle really big problems facing us and our planet. What makes you optimistic about our planet and our future? 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: Well, the thing about going into science and being able to like, sit in it is that you have this curiosity that you are always trying to satisfy. The thing that keeps me hopeful about the future in front of us is that it’s not just, you know, scientists being curious about what we can do. It’s everyone being curious and motivated to act. It’s not just about the scientists acting, because if that were true, they would have been listened to in the ’80s and ’90s and there would have been collective action around climate. [laugh]

Priyanka Aribindi: Right. 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: That’s not where we are right now. And so we just have a fundamentally different landscape where there is much more curiosity, much more motivation for people to be able to act and hold folks accountable for the kinds of things that are going to make our planet better. 

Priyanka Aribindi: What does the science tell us that we should be prioritizing to kind of make the biggest impact on climate change and the effects of it that we are seeing? 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: We definitely need to prioritize mitigation, getting our greenhouse gases down, and that can be carbon dioxide emission, that can be methane emission. Methane, lots of that is going to be coming not just from cows because I know people like to joke about the cows, but also our food waste. Um. So how we think about composting, not just at an individual household level, but at a broader community and more industrial level, how we are thinking about getting more of those gas powered cars off the road, how we are electrifying more broadly, how we’re thinking about heat pumps like it has to happen at every single level of society. The other thing that I like to say is that it’s not about if everyone has a PhD or even a bachelor’s degree in a kind of engineering that will then contribute to the technological advances. Ideas are amazing, but at the same time, you actually have to implement them. And to implement those ideas, you need grants makers and people who are going to create and apply for those grants. You need people who are going to be gardeners. You need people who are going to install solar panels. You need people who are going to be accountants to make sure that we are accountable to all of the different ways that we need to change our society for good. So when people are just like, but I don’t have this or I can’t, you have some skill that can contribute to the broader revolution that needs to happen for all of us, so why not use that? We all have a part to play. We absolutely all have a part to play. And even if it’s just calling your elected officials that are local elected officials, state level, federal level, and making sure that the kinds of funds that went into things like the Inflation Reduction Act, it’s so hard to say the IRA sometimes. [laughing] Making sure the money that your taxpayer dollars that are going into funding things like this are coming back to your communities. So it’s kind of like find the place to tune in that feels very authentic to you. For other people, it is going to be about getting more renewables on the grid. It is going to be about finding the jobs that are putting together the chargers for the electric cars that are going to be powering our future because the chargers don’t build themselves, you know, for other people it is about getting involved in global advocacy and action. 

Priyanka Aribindi: What do you say to people who kind of think it’s too late to do anything to act? 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: Um. Who benefits from you thinking it’s too late? You do not benefit when you think it’s too late. But there are plenty of other bodies, institutions, corporations and others who benefit from your inaction because you think it’s too late. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Right. 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: That’s what I say. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Heard you loud and clear. Dr. Ticora V. Jones, thank you so much for being here. 

Dr. Ticora V. Jones: Priyanka, it’s been a pleasure. This has been fun. 

Priyanka Aribindi: For our Anti Doom initiative to work. We need more people to know that a better future is possible. Learn more at Crookedideas.org, and to make sure that your voice is heard on everything that you care about, please vote. [music break]

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