Newspaper El Nuevo Día, considered to be Puerto Rico’s biggest newspaper with the most reach, recently released an editorial endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a new article personally signed by the editor Maria Luisa Ferré Rangel, the newspaper openly denounced the “contempt and misinformation” Republican nominee Donald Trump has spread about Puerto Ricans throughout the years. The writers specifically referred to Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria’s landfall in 2017.
When only 7% of the island had access to electricity, the president of the U.S. threw paper towels, claiming that Puerto Ricans were “bums who love begging.”
While the writers of the article said that the vice president herself was not perfect, they endorsed Harris, labeling her speeches as those of respect, empathy and inclusion as opposed to Trump’s speeches that seem to criminalize every immigrant.
The article also made references to Sunday night’s Trump rally in which speaker and supporter Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “an island of garbage in the ocean.”
Opinión | Los puertorriqueños deben votar por Kamala Harris https://t.co/7D2QMI28Q6 | Haz clic aquí ⬇️
— El Nuevo Día (@ElNuevoDia) October 29, 2024
Although the Trump campaign has attempted to distance themselves from the comment and the head of the Puerto Rico Republican Party, Ángel Cintrón, urged him to apologize, Trump failed to denounce Hinchcliffe, claiming he doesn’t know him and didn’t hear the remark.
“At this crucial moment, America demands a leader who respects the Constitution and honors the fundamental principle that all American citizens are protected by a Bill of Rights that safeguards our freedoms, including the right to speak out and dissent without fear of reprisal,” said the newspaper. “Trump, as in the past, is trying to silence the watchdog press and manipulate the judicial branch, an area where he faces multiple legal cases, being the president with the most contentious cases in the history of the country.”
Although Election Day is less than a week away, millions across the U.S. are heading to the ballot boxes as part of early voting efforts. Per the Election Lab at the University of Florida, over 51 million citizens have cast their vote, with approximately 26,900,000 casting their vote in person and about 24,600,000 voting through the mail.
Yesterday marked the last day of early voting in Pennsylvania. To swing the battleground state, the nonprofit PA Youth Vote organized an event in Love Park, gathering first-time voters and rallying them to the polls to aid in the voting process.
The nonprofit has been helping emphasize the importance one vote can make in a swing state.
“I feel like in order for us to want change, we have to make change in this generation,” said student Jania Simmons, per NBC News. “There’s a lot of things that we’re openly wanting to discuss in order for us to have that and make a big impact, our vote is really necessary.”
