Does Puerto Rico Vote for President of the U.S.? Many Angered by Recent Trump Rally Comments

Former president Donald Trump's campaign rally held on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 28 — just over a week before the 2024 election — had its fair share of divisive moments, many of them coming in the form of "jokes" from guest comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. Following his appearance, Tony has been criticized for many of the things he said at the New York rally, not least among them his calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."

Political opponents Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have condemned his hurtful commentary, along with several Hollywood stars such as Ricky Martin and Bad Bunny, both of whom are Puerto Rican.

Now, folks want to know more about Puerto Rico's role in the presidential race — after all, it is a U.S. territory. So, does Puerto Rico vote for president?

According to Pew Research Center, more than two-thirds of Puerto Ricans live in the United States, totaling around 5.8 million. Per USA Today, "Puerto Rican voters living in the U.S. make up the second-largest Latino group in the country, including in key battleground states like Pennsylvania."

However, while the island of Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and is somewhat governed by its politics, the roughly 3.3 million Puerto Ricans living on the island are not able to vote for president. They do, though, contribute to the decision of each party's primary nominees.

While the President of the United States also acts as the President of Puerto Rico, the island has their own government headed by their governor, Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia.

In the wake of Tony Hinchcliffe's disparaging comments about Puerto Rico, musician Bad Bunny has chosen to use his large platform to promote Trump's opposition, Vice President Harris.

On his Instagram story, he has shared several video clips of Harris speaking to constituents about Trump — particularly his actions regarding the deadly hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico during his presidency in 2017.

"I will never forget what Donald Trump did — and what he did not do — when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader," Harris said in the video. "He abandoned the island, tried to block aide after back-to-back, devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults."

However, while the musician has shown his support for Harris, his rep clarified to CNN that his support is not an official endorsement: "Benito’s political focus has always been on Puerto Rico."