Puerto Ricans cannot vote in general elections despite being U.S. citizens, but they can exert a powerful influence with relatives on the mainland. Phones across the island of 3.2 million people were ringing minutes after the speaker derided the U.S. territory Sunday night, and they still buzzed Monday.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is competing with Trump to win over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states. Shortly after stand-up comic Tony Hinchcliffe said that, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny announced he was backing Harris.

After Sunday’s rally, a senior adviser for the Trump campain, Danielle Alvarez, said in a statement that Hinchcliffe’s joke did “not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

    • TRBoom@lemm.ee
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      17 days ago

      Because each state is given the power to elect a president, not the voters. Puerto Rico isn’t a state so their voters aren’t represented properly.

      • Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip
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        17 days ago

        i mean the technicallity is that washington dc isnt a state either, so the better answer is that you need to live in a region where you have representatives.

        • zombyreagan@lemm.ee
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          17 days ago

          Dc does not have voting representatives in congress. They only get electoral votes because of the 23rd ammendment

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            17 days ago

            The better question is “why didn’t the 23rd grant voting rights to all US citizens in all territories?”