By Tatiana Pinheiro, Khushali Haji, Astra Rincón Montañez, and Ashley Borja
Dora Espinoza, a Latina Trump supporter originally from Peru, stood for more than three hours in line to enter Donald Trump’s final rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27. This came just hours before comedian Tony Hinchcliffe opened the rally, calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
His comments sparked widespread outrage, primarily from Democrats, nationwide.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory with a long history of U.S. intervention, was defended fiercely by prominent Puerto Rican figures, including recording artists Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez, who denounced the comment as offensive and ignorant.
But despite or even because of Trump’s language and policies impacting Latino communities, some Latino New Yorkers like Espinoza say he is the candidate for them.
“What he said about Puerto Rico is true, it is a dumping ground. Nobody helps Puerto Rico – not Obama, not Biden, no one,” said Espinoza. “The way people perceive that joke really depends on your worldview.”
Support for Republicans among Latino voters has steadily increased over the last three election cycles. According to a recent NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll, Trump now has 40% support among Latino voters, marking a significant rise from 19% in 2016. This highlights a growing alignment between Trump and segments of the Latino community from various countries of origin, who are drawn to his approach to the economy, strict border policies, and conservative values.
Here in New York, the newly elected president made multiple efforts to connect with Latino communities this election season. In May, he held his first major rally in New York City after 2016 at Crotona Park in the Bronx, the borough with the city’s largest Hispanic and Latino population.
With more than 1.4 million residents, the Bronx’s Latino population accounts for over 55 percent of its total, making them the largest voter base potential in the borough.
The rally permitted 3,500 people, but attendance far exceeded that as thousands of more community members joined in.
He returned to the borough in October, stopping by a barbershop in Castle Hill for an hour-long conversation with dozens of men, most of whom were Latino.
According to an August-September Pew Research study, the number one issue for Latino voters is the economy, with an average of 85% among survey participants. This is closely followed by healthcare and violent crime.
“They let all these delinquents, illegal criminals take over the streets,” said Luis Jose Reinoso, a registered Republican who voted last week at a poll in Washington Heights. “Politicians even took away the power of the police.”
Reinoso is among the Latino Republicans who are concerned that the instability that they once left behind could resurface in their new communities. This draws them towards policies that seem to prioritize public safety and economic stability in the U.S.
“I heard the joke, but it wasn’t so serious for me,” said Reinoso. “What’s serious is to have a president that will get rid of all the crime.”
Iris Lopez, director of the Latin American and Latino Studies department at the City College of New York, attributes this rise in Republicanism to conservatism within various Hispanic communities across the U.S., the influence of the religious right, which promotes traditional patriarchal family values, among other factors.
“People are feeling squeezed by inflation and [are blaming] unemployment and the high cost of food on the new Latin American immigrants” said Lopez. “Puerto Ricans were insulted by Hinchcliff’s comment but I am not certain if all Latinos/as were.”
Hinchcliff’s comment at the MSG rally was not the first derogatory comment about the Latinx community associated with Trump’s campaign, which has been marked by a series of controversial and divisive statements over the years. His comments first drew widespread attention during his 2016 presidential campaign speech where he referred to some Mexican immigrants as “criminals” and “rapists”. In December 2023, the former president correlated immigrants coming to the U.S. to those “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Immigration policies that targeted predominantly Latinx communities also became important to his political platform during his presidency. This included signing executive orders to expand a wall along the U.S.- Mexican border, and the ‘zero tolerance’ policy that led to the separation of thousands of families at the US – Mexico border.
“It is disturbing and disheartening that anyone would vote for a politician that is a threat to our democracy,” said Lopez. “Trump has condoned this bad behavior [Hinchcliffe’s comment] by refusing to condemn it. ”
Trump supporters like Espinoza who came to the MSG rally acknowledge that he isn’t a perfect politician.
“Trump sometimes puts his foot in his mouth because he doesn’t talk like a politician,” Espinoza said. “He’s a good manager, and that’s what the country needs.”
Others like Saida Ramos, a registered Democrat from a Dominican family, were angered by the comment. Her husband, Ricardo Ramos, said that he knew many people that went to the Trump rally at MSG.
“After that comedian said a joke like that, all my Puerto Rican friends no longer supported Trump,” Ramos said in Spanish.
Patiently waiting in line before the anti-Puerto Rico comments were made at the rally, Angie Salazar, 31, native Colombian, was once a registered Democrat, but now a Republican. She said she planned to vote for Trump because she supports his stance on immigration, the economy and welfare.
“He will bring order to the country,” said Salazar in Spanish. “In these last four years, we didn’t see the country progress, but go backwards, and the security of this country isn’t the same as before.”
Also at the rally was Mariecefa Reyes, 70, originally from the Dominican Republic. She was a registered Democrat, but became a Republican in recent years. She fears the rise of communism.
“With Trump, we will live free,” said Reyes. “He will make New York great again.”