Donald Trump and Tony Hinchcliffe
Just seven days before the presidential elections in the United States, a controversy stands in the way of Donald Trump’s victory. In fact, Trump had organized a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. In which an American comedian called Tony Hinchcliffe made a joke so crude that people didn’t like it. The center of this joke was Puerto Rico, a small island located near Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, which has been part of America since 1898.
Hinchcliffe called this island “a floating island of garbage in the sea.” This statement had such an impact that the most important newspaper in Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Día, announced its support for the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Superstar Bad Bunny, one of the biggest recording artists in the world, including actress Jennifer Lopez and singer Ricky Martin, also expressed their discontent. Democratic Party leaders have also spared no effort to take advantage of this incident.
Faced with criticism, Trump has distanced himself from Hinchcliffe’s statement. This damage control effort by Trump is enough to estimate how much power Puerto Rico has to influence the election. Let us know about this small island Puerto Rico in this context, how important will your vote be in the elections?
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Americans don’t vote in elections… but
Puerto Rico is technically an autonomous state of the United States. It has been part of America since 1898. Any person born on this Caribbean island is called an American citizen. He also has an American passport. However, people here do not vote in US presidential elections unless they are registered as voters in one of the 50 states of America.
The culture here is a mix of Spanish and African influences. Most people on this island speak Spanish. According to the 2020 census, 3.4 million residents live on the island of Puerto Rico. Every year millions of tourists come to this island, but in recent years, due to increasing debt, poverty and unemployment, a large number of people continue to go to the United States.
That’s why Puerto Rico is important
Millions of Puerto Ricans live in one of the 50 states of America. Who has the right to vote in elections. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 6 million voters live in the United States. These voters could be decisive in the presidential elections that will be held on November 5. Especially in the swing states that are going to play an important role in the elections.
However, experts say Puerto Ricans living in Pennsylvania, one of the largest swing states in the United States, can turn the tide of the election. There are currently around 4 lakh 50 thousand Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania, that is, around 3.7 percent of the total population of this state. Therefore, it is very possible that some Puerto Ricans who had decided to vote for Trump will vote for Harris out of resentment or abstain from voting altogether.
According to a recent poll, the state of Pennsylvania will likely decide in this election whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will become president. The elections here are so tough that anyone can win even by a few thousand votes. This has already happened twice. In the last election, Joe Biden had won Pennsylvania by only 82 thousand votes, while in 2016, Trump had won here but by only 44 thousand votes.
Not just in Pennsylvania, but Trump may also have to bear the brunt of Puerto Rican resentment in Georgia. Its population in Georgia is 1 lakh 31 thousand, more than 1 percent of the total population of the state. Another swing state, North Carolina, also has a sizable population of Puerto Ricans.
Where is the impact besides swing states?
The influence of Puerto Ricans is not limited to the disputed states. In fact, it can only have the same impact on elections in other states. Take Florida, where there are around 11 lakh Puerto Rican voters, i.e. 5.6 percent of the state’s total population.
There are 2 lakh 99 thousand Puerto Ricans living in Connecticut, that is, 8.3 percent of the total population. Around 1 million people from Puerto Rico live in New York. These people also have objections to Hinchcliffe’s statement and their discontent may cost Trump dearly here.
Why doesn’t Puerto Rico obtain statehood?
For years there has been debate over whether Puerto Rico should be granted statehood. After the Spanish-American War, Spain gave it to America in 1898. It has been part of the United States ever since. The US Parliament, also known as Congress, does not want to grant statehood to Puerto Rico due to the economic costs.
Along with this, there is also concern that doing so will lead to a shift in the balance of power in Washington. This means that if it becomes a state, two senators will also have to be added to the Senate, the upper house of Parliament. There are currently 50 states in America, so two senators are elected for each state, whose number is currently 100. In 2020, a survey was carried out in Puerto Rico in which more than half of the participating voters thought that should grant him statehood.
