The memes on social media say it all: “Respect Puerto Rico,” and “I am a Proud Puerto Rican! Not garbage!” and reminders to vote on Tuesday.
The reaction to racist jokes made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s rally in New York last Sunday has been swift. The comedian also made disgusting comments about Latinos and Black people.
Latino celebrities, including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, have voiced support for Vice President Kamala Harris. Singer Nicky Jam withdrew his endorsement of Trump. The Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico and others have demanded an apology from Trump.
The Trump campaign released a statement to say those comments don’t represent the campaign. But Trump said the comments were not a “big deal.” Trump called the rally where speakers eschewed racism, misogyny and bigotry a “love fest.” At a Tuesday night rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city with a large Puerto Rican community, Trump said, “Nobody loves our Latino community and our Puerto Rican community more than I do.”
Those comments ring hollow from a person who started his campaign calling Mexican immigrants “rapists and criminals,” and whose idea of celebrating Latino heritage is eating a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo. Let’s not forget he is promising mass deportations on day one and that will impact the Latino community, including U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants, and possibly legal immigrants, such as Haitians he falsely accused of eating cats and dogs.
The election is a dead heat and in many states Latino voters could play a decisive factor. An estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the U.S. this year, according to Pew Research. Also, nearly one million Puerto Rican voters live in swing states. Around 81% of Latinos in the U.S. are U.S. citizens and Latinos make up 8% of the veteran population amounting to 1.5 million veterans.
What’s concerning is some polls show that as many as a third of Latino voters could vote for Trump.
As a Latina, who is fourth generation Mexican American, I am struggling to understand why any Latinos would vote for Trump. Reporting from The Atlantic this month revealed that Trump disparaged a Mexican American family.
According to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, Trump offered to pay for the funeral of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Army private, was bludgeoned to death by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood in 2020. But when the bill came he said this: “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” He turned to his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and issued an order: “Don’t pay it!”
He later said, “F…..g people, trying to rip me off.”
Maybe some Latinos don’t feel upset by these insults because they’re not of Mexican heritage. Or because they are second or third generation. They think that’s them, not me. As Latinos, we shouldn’t close the door on immigrants just because we got here first.
It’s also important to acknowledge machismo is playing a role. I’ve heard interviews with some Latino men who question whether a woman can do the job of president. I have one response to that. If Mexico can elect a woman president, so can the United States. Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn into office on Oct. 1 as Mexico’s first female president.
The Harris campaign is running ads on Spanish-language radio with a daughter making a plea to her father to vote for Harris. “But don’t you see how he insults immigrants? Men like you. He’s disrespecting us,” a translation of the ad states. “Look what he did to women’s rights. And if he wins again, what will my future look like? Dad, I need you by my side.”
This is a compelling argument and I know Latina women who are making similar speeches to their fathers and grandfathers. One of them told me she convinced her grandfather not to vote for Trump.
My Mexican-American parents, who are very religious and don’t believe in abortion, still plan to cast their votes for Harris. They don’t agree with how Trump has demonized immigrants and as retirees they want their Medicare and health benefits to be protected.
Trump can’t be trusted. Remember how he promised to build a wall and that Mexico would pay for it? Didn’t happen.
Trump doesn’t respect Latinos. Remember how he threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria? All the insults add up.
Latino voters, particularly Puerto Rican voters, can make all the difference in swing states like Pennsylvania. As the saying goes, “su voto es su voz” or “your vote is your voice.”
