Florida Latino Leaders Urge Puerto Rican Community to Vote Against Trump After Hate Speech Rally

Rep. Soto emphasized the importance of mobilizing millions of Puerto Ricans living in the US, especially in key states like Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

A group of community leaders and organizations dedicated to supporting the Puerto Rican and Latino communities in Florida urged them to reject the hateful messages from Donald Trump’s New York City rally with their vote.

Rep. Darren Soto called comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments — where he described Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” — deeply disrespectful. 

“We have a beautiful island, millions of people come to Puerto Rico every year. But this is what happens when you set up a rally that fosters hate; minorities are talked of as vermin, as not human. This is what fascists did. We also know that these words became viral across our community, and the response was swift and angry,” Soto said.

The representative recalled Trump’s slow response to the massive disaster caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, contrasting it with Kamala Harris’s plan for the island.

“We saw after passing 40-plus billion dollars for the island’s recovery, that President Trump blocked that relief for months. We saw seven months go by without power coming back as they looked on, acting helpless. We saw nearly 2,000 Puerto Ricans die in that tragedy. And then when he finally came, he threw paper towels at us, even attacked us for our lack of infrastructure, knowing that this is the result of a lack of federal investment for many, many years on an island that’s bigger than over a dozen states as a territory,” Soto stated.

“In contrast, we have Vice President Harris’s plan to help the island recover economically, for disaster relief, and to assist with environmental issues. So we see attacks on one hand and a plan to help our brothers and sisters on the island and here in central Florida to continue prospering,” said Rep. Soto.

Soto emphasized the importance of mobilizing millions of Puerto Ricans living in the US, especially in key states like Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

“And now we’ll see the electoral power of nearly 6 million Puerto Ricans on the mainland, 1.2 million FloridaRicans here, nearly half a million in Pennsylvania, and over 50,000 in Georgia and North Carolina. There’s only one thing we can do at this point. We have to vote,” the representative added.

Kissimmee Mayoral candidate Jackie Espinoza said it was important to send a message of hope and love, emphasizing that it’s unacceptable for this level of insult to be directed not only at the Puerto Rican community but also the broader Latino community.

Marcos Vilar, executive director of Alianza for Progress, stated this was nothing new, as “Trump has been attacking Latinos and immigrants for 10 years, accusing them of being criminals, while he himself has committed crimes.”

Vilar also stressed the importance of the community turning out to vote next Tuesday.

“It doesn’t surprise me to see someone at his rallies talking about Puerto Rico that way. It’s just another day in Trump’s world. The question for all of us is: when is it going to be your turn to be targeted by Donald Trump? Are you going to complain? Or are you going to do something about it before you get targeted, before you get demeaned, before you get dehumanized?” Vilar asked, adding in Spanish, “Nos puede dar todo el coraje del mundo, pero si no hacemos algo, no va a cambiar nada. Y tenemos en ocho días una tremenda oportunidad.” (“We get as angry as ever, but if we don’t act, nothing will change. And we have a tremendous opportunity in eight days.”)

Other activists and community leaders present included Zulma Vélez Estrada and Nancy Rosado, board members of Alianza; Margie Lacén, activist; Carlos Álvarez, former mayor of Kissimmee; William Díaz of Casa Venezuela; and Jorge Figueroa, president of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

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