The Yankee Stadium stands tall in the South Bronx – like the Latino community that’s settled there through generations.
Many were attending Monday’s latest game in baseball’s World Series between the Yankees and LA Dodgers.
We mingled with the crowd before “doors open”. I wanted to ask Latino baseball fans attending the big event about the big event the day before – the Trump rally and a comedian’s description of Puerto Rico as “garbage”.
I chatted with half a dozen and there was offence taken, for sure, by some if not all. One man who lives in Puerto Rico said it was racism and unacceptable. Another replied that it was a joke by a comedian, no more, and that Latinos had a sense of humour. Four others told me they either didn’t have a view or didn’t care.
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It was a limited measure of opinion, clearly, but the opinions within a 100sq m reflected a degree of apathy, at least, and a suggestion that real life doesn’t reflect the fevered debate of the political class – not for the first time.
It would match the expectations of the Trump campaign. However ugly and threatening the remarks about Puerto Rico will be to many, it won’t necessarily be enough to penetrate a support base that’s heard it all before.