Puerto Rico has been in the news in recent hours after a comedian at Donald Trump’s rally made an insulting and derogatory comment about the US territory, describing it as a “floating island of garbage.”

Separately, Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny publicly supported Kamala Harris, sharing one of her campaign videos on her social media.

This comes as Republicans and Democrats have renewed efforts to attract Latino voters in the final days of this campaign.

There are approximately 36 million Hispanic voters eligible to vote this year, according to the Pew Research Center., external They are generally a key part of the Democratic Party coalition, with 59% of Latinos voting for Joe Biden in 2020, according to Pew.

But Republicans have gained popularity, particularly among members of the Cuban-American community — a majority of whom identified as Republican in 2020. In that election, Donald Trump increased his share of Hispanic voters to 38%, or an increase. of the 25% Republicans received in the 2018 congressional elections.

Hispanic voters constitute a large minority in several key states. In Pennsylvania, they represent about 615,000 people, according to Pew. In Arizona, where Donald Trump holds a slight lead according to polls, 855,000 Latinos are expected to vote.

This is why the remarks made at Sunday’s rally took on such importance. Democratic Party Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania to watch the clips. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s campaign was quick to disavow them.

Image source, PA Media