In the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Fairhill, signs of Puerto Rico are never too far away. The US island territory’s red, white and blue flag adorns homes and businesses, and salsa and reggaetón blare from passing cars and restaurants selling fried plantains and roasted pork.

The district is the beating heart of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican population of more than 90,000 and makes up a significant portion of Pennsylvania’s Latino community, which both Democrats and Republicans are trying to influence ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

But on Monday morning, many residents were outraged by a joke made at Donald Trump’s rally in New York the night before, in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as a “garbage island.”

Some said the joke would come back to haunt Republicans key in swing state Democrats won in 2020 by a narrow margin of 1.17% (about 82,000 votes).

“The campaign has done a lot of damage to itself. It’s crazy to me,” said local resident Ivonne Torres Miranda, who said she was still disappointed by both candidates (Republican Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris) with only eight days left in the campaign.

“Even if (Mr Hinchcliffe) was joking, you don’t joke like that.

“We are Puerto Ricans. We have dignity and pride,” he told the BBC, speaking rapid Spanish with a strong Puerto Rican accent.

“You should think before you say something.”

The Trump campaign subsequently quickly distanced itself from Mr. Hinchcliffe’s joke, with a spokesman saying the remarks “do not reflect the views” of Trump or his campaign.

Harris’ campaign attacked the joke, and the vice president said the comment was a sign that Trump was “fuelling the fuel of trying to divide” Americans.

Her views were also supported by Puerto Rican celebrities Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, who supported Harris on Sunday.

A campaign official told BBC’s US partner CBS that the debate was a political gift to the Democrats.

Some Puerto Rican residents agree with this assessment.

“(He) put it in the bag for us. He literally gave us the win,” said Jessie Ramos, a Harris supporter. “She has no idea how much effort the Latino community will put into coming out and supporting Kamala Harris.”

Residents of Puerto Rico, a US island territory in the Caribbean, cannot vote in presidential elections, but the large diaspora in the US can do so.

Approximately 600,000 voters across Pennsylvania are Latino.

More than 470,000 of them are Puerto Ricans; It’s one of the largest concentrations in the country and the potential deciding factor in a state where polls show Harris and Trump in an extremely tight race.

North Philadelphia in particular has been a target for Harris, who made a campaign stop Sunday at Freddy & Tony’s, a Puerto Rican restaurant and community center in Fairhill.

The same day, Harris unveiled a new policy platform for Puerto Rico promising economic development and improved disaster relief, and accused Trump of “abandoning and insulting” the island during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

It remains to be seen whether this will affect Puerto Rican voters.

Freddy & Tony’s owner Dalma Santiago told the BBC she wasn’t sure if the prank would make a difference but believed it was heard “loud and clear” in Fairhill and other Puerto Rican communities.

“Everyone has their own opinion,” he told the BBC. “But no one will forget this.”

Similarly, Moses Santana, a 13-year U.S. Army veteran who works at the harm reduction facility in Fairhill, said he was unsure of the prank’s effectiveness.

In an interview with the BBC on the corner of Fairhill street, Mr Santana said the area had traditionally been fed up with politicians of all stripes and many believed both parties had failed to address socio-economic problems, crime and drug use there.

“People here tend not to get what they want,” he added. “Even when they vote.”

On Tuesday, Trump will campaign in Allentown, a town in central Pennsylvania with a population of about 125,000 where about 33,000 people identify as Puerto Rican.

But even among Trump supporters in Pennsylvania’s large Latino community, the joke didn’t go down well.

Among them was Jessenia Anderson, a Puerto Rican Republican voter who lives in the town of Johnstown, about 386 km west of Philadelphia.

Ms. Anderson, a military veteran born on New York’s heavily Puerto Rican Lower East Side, frequently attends Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.

He called the joke “deeply offensive” and said the routine felt “wildly out of place” and implored his fellow Republicans to have “thoughtful and respectful conversations.”

But Ms. Anderson has no intention of changing her vote.

“My belief in the party’s potential to make a positive impact remains strong,” he said.

“I hope they treat Latino voters with the respect they deserve.”