A controversial “floating trash” joke about Puerto Rico made by a comedian at a rally for Republican President-elect Donald Trump in the final days before the election may not have had the negative impact on Trump’s support for Puerto Ricans that critics expected.
Despite the backlash from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Trump rally in New York City nearly a week earlier on Tuesday, Trump still won Florida’s most Puerto Rican states, which he lost in 2020 and 2016.
Osceola County, home to the largest Puerto Rican population in the Sunshine State based on census data, voted for Trump on Tuesday night after voting Democrat in the last two elections where Trump ran. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties, two other counties with large Puerto Rican populations that Trump lost in 2020 and 2016, also went for Trump this time.
A protester with a Puerto Rican flag attends a rally against Donald Trump on June 18, 2019, in Orlando, Fla.
Not only did Trump get significant support from Florida’s Puerto Rican-heavy states, the US territory also elected Trump’s running mate as its next governor.
AOC STRIKES ON PUBLIC NOTE AFTER MAJOR PUERTO RICAN RALLY HAD TO BE JOINED WITH TRUMP’S EASEMENT
Questions about how Trump would fare with Latino voters began to circulate heading into Election Day after Hinchcliffe caused a firestorm after appearing at a Trump rally and telling a joke likening Puerto Rico to “a pile of trash.”
“Comments like this encourage us. Latinos are not a group to be taken lightly, especially when it comes to our impact at the ballot box,” Ana Valdez, CEO of a Latino nonprofit, told Newsweek ahead of Tuesday’s election. “We expect this weekend’s comments to drive more candidates into Latino-heavy states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida.”
Then President Trump visits the Cavalry Chapel in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on October 3, 2017, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the region.
Meanwhile, an anonymous Puerto Rican female voter spoke to CNN on Election Day and was asked how Hinchcliffe’s joke might affect the person she chose to support. The voter said the joke did not sit well with him but concluded that “at the end of the day” he wants to vote for who will give him “a better life in the future,” regardless of what he says. The voter added that this was a decision he and his family agreed upon.
I AM PUERTO RICAN AND KAMALA HARRIS WILL CONTINUE THE DESTRUCTION OF DEMOCRACY ON THE ISLAND.
In addition, some Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania told Fox News that Hinchcliffe’s joke did not affect their support for Trump, although one of their country’s attorneys insisted that it would have an “undeniable impact” on the election results.
The protesters want Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced resigned during the protest, Jan. 20, 2020, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In addition to the ground Trump gained among Puerto Rican voters in this election, Puerto Rico’s four-way gubernatorial race ended with a victory for Trump’s running mate Jennifer González-Colón, who had been a non-voting delegate to Congress from the area.
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Hispanics overall were less supportive of 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Harris than they were of President Biden in 2020. Although the majority of Hispanic voters support Harris over Trump, the vice president’s eight-point margin on Tuesday reached Biden’s 33- Point victory over Trump in 2020.
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