©  AP Photo/Mike Stewart/Evan Vucci

Former President Trump will visit the majority-Hispanic city of Allentown, Pa., on Tuesday evening, as his campaign seeks to quell the outcry over comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s jokes about Latinos and Puerto Rico from a Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend.

As The Hill's Niall Stanage writes, "The Trump campaign is struggling to contain an October surprise of its own making, just one week from Election Day."

So far, Trump has refused to acknowledge the controversy.

In an interview with ABC’s Rachel Scott, Trump said he didn’t hear what was said.

“I don’t know him; someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”

Instead, Trump described the Madison Square Garden rally as a “love fest” and accused Vice President Harris of running a “campaign of hate.”

• Republicans in states with large numbers of Puerto Ricans, including the GOP’s two Florida senators, rebuked Hinchcliffe. 
  
  
• Trump's spokesperson said Hinchcliffe’s remarks do not reflect the views of the campaign.

Is the controversy a meaningless media frenzy or is it a potential October surprise?

• According to Pew Research, Pennsylvania has the fourth largest population of Puerto Ricans in the country.
  
  
• There are more than 30,000 voters of Puerto Rican heritage in Allentown, where Trump will campaign on Tuesday night.

The Hill’s Rafael Bernal writes: “Though the Trump campaign and many individual Republicans have disavowed Hinchcliffe’s set, the fracas opened a window for Vice President Harris to make a last-minute pitch to low-propensity voters who could help decide the election … the timing of the Madison Square Garden rally played in favor of Harris, who on the same day released a set of policy proposals for the U.S. territory.”

• Puerto Rico’s largest newspaper, El Nuevo Día, endorsed Harris on Tuesday, saying she “directly addresses Puerto Rico’s pressing emergencies.”
  
  
• Puerto Rico’s GOP Chair Ángel Cintrón says he will not vote for Trump in Puerto Rico’s symbolic presidential poll on Election Day unless he personally apologizes.
  
  
• Puerto Rico’s Catholic archbishop also called on Trump to apologize.

The Harris campaign has seized on the controversy:

• The Harris campaign cut an ad featuring Hinchcliffe’s joke.
  
  
• Former President Obama accused the rally speakers of using “racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes.”
  
  
• Democratic strategist James Carville predicted the remarks are “gonna cost [Trump] votes.”

Republicans everywhere are being asked about the remarks.

• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faced questions at a get-out-the-vote event for GOP congressional candidate Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania.
  
  
• “As a Latina myself, I am concerned about the comments made by the supposed comedian,” attendee Wanda Mercado-Arroyo said. “What are we going to do about that? We need to have a strong voice about that, because we were making such a great advance with Latinos...People are bombarding all of us Latinos that happen to know that we’re Republicans, asking us ‘Why? How that can happen? Who vetted these people who were speaking?’”
  
  
• Johnson said he didn’t think the “stupid comments” would “make any difference.”

Comedian and political commentator Jon Stewart came to Hinchcliffe’s defense, saying remarks from a comedy routine shouldn’t be judged as political commentary.

“Obviously, in retrospect, having a roast comedian come to a political rally a week before election day and roasting a key demographic … probably not the best decision by the campaign politically, but to be fair, the guy’s just really doing what he does,” Stewart said Monday night on “The Daily Show.”

💡 Perspectives:

• The American Prospect: Will Trump save us from Trump?
• The Liberal Patriot: Trends to watch.

Read more: 

• Trump campaign struggles to contain Puerto Rico October surprise.
• GOP voices frustration, disgust over Trump rally.
• Who is Tony Hinchcliffe?
• Bad Bunny releases video love letter to Puerto Rico after Trump rally.
• Tech leaders mend fences with Trump ahead of election.
• Steve Bannon released from prison.

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will not recuse herself after Ryan Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate former President Trump, sought to have her removed from the case.
  
  

• Jeff Bezos broke his silence and defended his move to ban the Washington Post's presidential endorsements. Over 200 Gannett publications have also made the decision to drop presidential and national endorsements. 
  
  

• Airlines are now required to provide automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights. 
  
  

• Can zapping the brain help treat addiction? A radical experiment uses focused ultrasound waves to reset cells inside the brain’s reward center to combat cravings.
  
  

• Policymakers are pushing for solutions amid the uncertain future of cities. 
  
  

• The cost of college is quietly going down.

©  AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

Vice President Harris will makes her closing argument within view of the White House on Tuesday evening, as she seeks to cast former President Trump as a threat to democratic norms.

The Harris campaign requested a permit for 20,000 people at The Ellipse, where Trump spoke to his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, before the riot on Capitol Hill.

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has a preview:

• Harris will highlight Trump’s election denialism and his role in provoking his supporters to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.
  
  
• Harris will argue that Trump is consumed by grievances and that he will focus his second term on retaliating against his “enemies list,” while she has her own “to-do list” of how to help struggling Americans.

Not all Democrats agree that Harris should focus so heavily on Trump being a threat to democracy in the closing days of the campaign.

• Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: “Democrats are frustrated Vice President Harris hasn’t done more to sell her economic message and worry former President Trump continues to have a sizable advantage on what many voters say is their No. 1 issue. Harris has focused on attacking Trump in recent weeks. But she has lost ground to him in the polls, as voters say they are less likely to be motivated by additional criticisms of Trump, whose flaws are well-known after standing in the national spotlight for more than eight years.”
  
  
• Harris plans to visit all seven battlegrounds in the six nights before Election Day, starting with trips Wednesday to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
  
  
• Harris sat Tuesday for her second interview with Charlamagne Tha God’s “Breakfast Club” as she continues her efforts to reach Black voters.

Will she go on Joe Rogan’s podcast?

• Rogan said the Harris campaign has offered him a one hour interview if he travels to meet her on the campaign trail.
  
  
• Rogan on Tuesday said the invite is still on the table, but he wants to conduct the interview with no time limits in his Austin, Texas, studio.
  
  
• Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will make the trip to Austin to do Rogan’s podcast Wednesday.
  
  
• Trump’s interview with Rogan has 38 million views on YouTube.

💡 Perspectives:

The Hill: I worked for Harris. Here’s what I learned about her.

The Huffington Post: How the ‘enemies list’ fits into Harris’s closing message.

Tablet: The Democrats’ insanity defense.

The Nation: Michelle Obama is finally ready to “go low” against Trump.

USA Today: Harris is peddling fear to suburban women voters.

Read more:

• Harris reaches for big moment in closing argument.
• Five things to watch for in Harris’s speech at the Ellipse.
• Harris to advertise on the Las Vegas sphere.

©  Stephanie Scarbrough, Associated Press

More than 50 million Americans have already cast their ballot with one week to go before Election Day, according to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab.

• The votes are fairly evenly split between in-person and mail ballots, with 26.6 million going to the polls and 24.5 million using mail.
  
  
• More than one-third of the 66.6 million mail ballots requested nationwide have already been returned.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is bracing for a deluge of mail ballots. If the ballot in your state is due by Election Day, the USPS recommends getting it in the mail today:

“As in past elections, the Postal Service is ready to deliver your ballot on time. But don’t delay. If you choose to vote by mail, please mail early as every day counts.”

The latest polling averages from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ are below.

• Trump leads in six of the seven battlegrounds, but every state is within 2 points.
  
  
• The three “Blue Wall” states that represent Harris’s likeliest path to the White House are effectively tied.

National: Harris +0.8

AZ: Trump +1.9

GA: Trump +1.4

MI: Harris +0.2

NC: Trump +1.3

NV: Trump +0.9

PA: Trump +0.4

WI: Trump +0.4

Harris has kept President Biden at arm’s length during the campaign, but but Biden has been quietly campaigning for the Democratic nominee.

• Biden will give remarks on the economy in Baltimore this afternoon, before participating in a campaign call aimed at turning out Latino voters.
  
  
• On Friday, Biden will travel to Philadelphia to rally union workers for Harris.
  
  

Read more:

• Libertarian candidate a wild card in swing states.
• RNC asks Supreme Court to intervene in Pa. Mail ballot case.
• Florida elections worker fired after ballots fell off truck.

"Two decades of unlimited money in politics has transformed U.S. democracy," by Hilary Braseth for The Hill.

"Open primaries could break America's partisan impasse," by the Editorial Board at Bloomberg.

"There's a cost to staying glued to election coverage 24/7," by Zeeshan Aleem for MSNBC.

Election Day is one week away.

83 days until Inauguration Day 2025.

(all times Eastern)

Tuesday

• Trump holds a rally in Allentown, Pa., at 7 p.m.
• Harris delivers remarks from the Ellipse in Washington at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

• Trump campaigns in North Carolina and Wisconsin.
• Harris will campaign in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: jeasley@thehill.com

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