At Sunday’s Trump rally at Madison Square Gardens, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe exclaimed:
“There’s a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Why would anyone in their right mind say so?
In 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, with Spain ceding control of Puerto Rico to the United States. In 1917 the people of Puerto Rico became U.S. citizens.
Governed by U.S. law, including paying income taxes to the U.S. government, residents of this unincorporated U.S. territory (or commonwealth) may nominate presidential candidates, but cannot vote in presidential elections unless they have official residency in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.
Puerto Rico is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Jenniffer Aydin Gonzalez Colon, a Member of Congress who is affiliated with the Republican party. Ms. Gonzalez may not vote on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor, but she is allowed to serve on congressional committees.
In 2021, there were an estimated 5.8 million Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin living in the United States. They are the second largest population of Hispanic origin living in the U.S. An additional 3.2 million people live in Puerto Rico, bringing the total insulted pool to 9 million Americans.
After the Madison Square Gardens spectacle, Representative Ritchie Torres, whose heritage is Puerto Rican, said that he was "tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage.” I believe he speaks for all of us.
Hinchcliffe boasted that “17 years ago I was sleeping in my car behind the Comedy Store in LA”. Mr. Hinchcliffe, perhaps your highly insulting remarks about 9 million bona fide U.S. citizens will pave the way for you to return to the place where you started.
Lastly, to the millions of Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin who have the right to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, be wary of those who choose such company. Tuesday, November 5th, is your day to correct the record.
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