Puerto Rican shadow senator endorses Trump for president

“I strongly and fully support and endorse Donald J. Trump to be our 47th president — to make America great again and, of course, to make Puerto Rico shine again,” Buxo told Trump supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania.

“We need this man back in the White House,” the shadow senator added. “We need this man to be our commander-in-chief. He will make us feel safe, and he will protect us.”

Buxo’s appearance was part of a Trump rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she was one of three Hispanic speakers addressing the town which now has a majority Latino demographic. Florida Senator Marco Rubio was also present at the rally.

The endorsement comes on the heels of a controversial joke made by popular “roast” comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s Madison Square Garden event, where he compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.” The comment drew sharp criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans, including Senator Rubio. Comedian Jon Stewart defended the joke.

Trump has since distanced himself from Hinchcliffe’s comment, claiming he has “no idea” who the comedian is. “Somebody said there was a comedian that joked about Puerto Rico or something, and I have no idea who he is, never saw him, never heard of him and don’t want to hear of him,” Trump said on Fox News.

While Buxo did not mention Hinchcliffe by name at the rally, she appeared to allude to the controversy, saying, "We won't get rattled, we won't yield to ignorance [or] foolishness… we will remain focused on what is very important."