‘Disgusting, but nothing new’: Puerto Rican students disappointed by Trump rally, voting rights

Derogatory comments made toward Puerto Rico at a campaign rally for former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump last Sunday spurred criticism from various Puerto Rican students at Stanford.  

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe opened the Oct. 27 Trump rally at a venue filled with around 20,000 people in Madison Square Garden, by calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.” The remark has been dubbed as crude and racist by politicians.

Indira Paola Rosado Miranda ’26, who is from Puerto Rico, took to social media to express her disappointment in the characterization.

“Words cannot encompass just how beautiful my island and its people [are],” Rosado Miranda wrote. “I beg of you as someone who cannot vote in this election, or any presidential elections for that matter, please think of this when casting your vote.” 

The backlash towards the Trump campaign has led political analysts to compare the campaign to historically fascist rhetoric. Puerto Rican celebrities have rescinded their endorsements of Trump, while others have reaffirmed their support for Vice President Kamala Harris. The Harris campaign has also condemned the rhetoric.

“[The Hinchcliffe comment] isn’t an exception to what is the rhetoric towards not just Puerto Ricans, but towards everyone who isn’t ‘American.’ They are just saying the quiet part out loud,” Gustavo Daniel Hernandez Luciano ’26 said.

Puerto Ricans living on the island cannot vote in U.S. elections, but Puerto Ricans who have permanent residency in the United States can. Aliana Arzola ’26, who was also born and raised in Puerto Rico, called the lack of congressional and federal representation for Puerto Ricans “very problematic and something that needs to be addressed.”

“The presidential election absolutely does impact us,” Arzola said. “Whatever goes on in the U.S., Puerto Ricans on the island really don’t have a say.” 

Puerto Rico does have a voice in Congress through a non-voting Resident Commissioner who speaks on behalf of Puerto Ricans in Congress. The current Resident Commissioner is Jennifer González-Colón who has worked in Congress since 2017. 

“It’s a pure injustice in how it goes against the basic American notion of ‘No taxation without representation.’ We always get affected by U.S. policy directly, but we can’t do anything about it,” Hernandez Luciano said. 

For the first time in history, Puerto Ricans with permanent residency on the island received a “ceremonial” ballot for the U.S. presidential election this year. The ceremonial ballot has no power — it simply polls Puerto Ricans’ opinions. Hernandez Luciano said the hypothetical ballot is a “slap in the face” for many Puerto Ricans unable to vote.

Miranda said she felt similarly disappointed in another voting procedure on the Puerto Rican ballot this year: the referendum for status. Puerto Rican voters have three options: statehood, independence or a commonwealth. None of these options are possible without the approval or support of Congress and are non-binding as a result.

Hernandez Luciano said that anti-Puerto Rican sentiments are “disgusting, but nothing new.” Miranda recalled Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico in 2017 following Hurricane Maria in which he threw paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans. Even at Stanford, Miranda and Hernandez Luciano said they remembered being complimented on their English speaking abilities upon their arrival.

“The comments that were said about Puerto Rico are as good a reminder as any to the people that can vote in presidential elections to vote, and to keep in mind what campaign rhetoric, and the surrogates and candidates of the campaign say and how that impacts the people that they talk about,” Arzola said. 

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