Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke describing Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage” at former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in New York on Sunday continued to cause uproar in the Puerto Rican community on Tuesday.

El Nuevo Día, the island territory’s largest newspaper, endorsed Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in a scathing front page editorial calling the rally “a repugnant display of hate that evokes memories of the speeches of Nazism and Fascism, which aimed to eliminate minorities.” The paper’s longtime editor and parent company CEO María Luisa Ferré Rangel wrote Trump’s behavior is “erratic and narcissistic” and that the former president “suffers from psychopathic elements that he evidences by lying repeatedly.”

“Today, the hearts of all of us who love this beautiful Garden of America, and of the world, clench with rage and pain. Puerto Ricans are a noble and peaceful people, who deeply love their island,” she wrote. “On Sunday, continuing a pattern of contempt and misinformation that Donald Trump has maintained for years against the eight million of us American citizens who are Puerto Ricans, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe insulted us during a Republican Party event by referring to Puerto Rico as” a floating island of garbage.

“Is that what Trump and the Republican Party think about Puerto Ricans? Politics is not a joke and hiding behind a comedian is cowardly,” she added.

Ferré Rangel referenced Trump throwing paper towels into a crowd in San Juan in 2017, his first year in office, after Hurricane Maria devastated the island and the federal government was blamed for a slow response that left almost the entire island without power for weeks and contributed to thousands of deaths in the months that followed. She also discussed his criminal conviction, treatment of women in his personal life and vitriol toward immigrants.

“He has no moral compass and believes that the rules do not apply to him. These are traits typical of those people who qualify as malignant narcissists. Trump is one of the worst,” she wrote. “With these emotionally hollow characteristics, the only thing important to that type of person is themselves. This is evident in his distortion of reality. To Trump, no one is better than he is. Only he exists.”

Residents of Puerto Rico can’t vote in U.S. presidential elections despite being U.S. citizens, but Ferré Rangel encouraged "all Puerto Ricans who can vote in this upcoming United States election and represent those of us who cannot” to vote for Harris. 

Separately, in an open letter published on Monday, the Catholic archbishop of San Juan told Trump he was “dismayed and appalled” by Hinchcliffe’s remarks and said he wrote the letter demanding a personal apology from the former president after consulting with his fellow bishops in Puerto Rico. 

“I enjoy a good joke. However, humor has its limits. It should not insult or denigrate the dignity and sacredness of people. Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not only provoke sinister laugher, but hatred,” Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves wrote. “I call upon you, Mr. Trump, to disavow these comments as reflecting in any way your personal or political viewpoints.”

“It is not sufficient for your campaign to apologize. It is important that you, personally, apologize for these comments,” he added. 

Trump’s campaign and many Republicans disavowed the remark, but the candidate himself has yet to do so, claiming in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday that his Sunday rally was a “love fest.” At an event in the Philadelphia suburbs later on Tuesday, Trump boasted “no president has done more for Puerto Rico than I have.”

A slew of Puerto Rican officials and celebrities have denounced Hinchcliffe and many have endorsed Harris in the days since the rally. Jennifer Lopez, one of the most famous Puerto Rican celebrities in the U.S. said she will campaign with Harris in Las Vegas Halloween night.

Lopez will give remarks as part of a get-out-the-vote event in the key battleground state, where the Mexican pop rock band Mana will also perform. Lopez is expected to speak about the importance of voting, what’s at stake for the country and why she is endorsing Harris, the Harris-Walz campaign said.

Shortly after Hinchcliffe made the denigrating remarks at Madison Square Garden, Lopez wrote on X, “Throughout my career, I’ve always fought for the people of Puerto Rico. Every chance he got, Donald Trump abandoned and insulted them.”

A number of other celebrities of Puerto Rican descent expressed support for Harris in the days after the rally, including music superstars Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin, former Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera and actor John Leguizamo.

On Tuesday, Bad Bunny reposted his 2021 video that showcased the natural beauty of Puerto Rico’s beaches, forests and culture alongside images of famous artists, athletes and other Puerto Rican icons.

The reposted video was simply captioned “garbage,” an apparent reference to Hinchcliffe. Bad Bunny is a global pop icon and is widely listened to by younger and Hispanic Americans.

Harris, her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden have all laid the blame for the racist attack on Puerto Rico at Trump’s feet.

Boasting of new federal funding for port infrastructure across the country, including in Puerto Rico, at an event in Maryland on Sunday, Biden said “I'd like to take that guy for a swim out there.” It was not immediately clear if he was referring to Trump or Hinchcliffe.

 Spectrum News’ Susan Carpenter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.