Some Latinos considered changing their Donald Trump votes after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally in New York, but it was too late, says Camille Rivera, founder of Puerto Rican PAC La Brega y Fuerza.
Rivera’s comments follow disappointing Election Day results for Vice President Kamala Harris among Latino voters. Although some exit polls show Harris winning the bloc, she’s trailing President Joe Biden’s 2020 performance. Speaking with Newsweek on Tuesday evening, Rivera highlighted a delayed investment by Hispanic Democrats.
“For two or three years, we’ve been asking Democratic institutions to provide resources. By the time they responded, many people had already voted. Ten days is a long time, and during those ten days, I got many calls from people who wanted to change their vote but couldn’t,” Rivera said.
In contrast, former President Trump is surpassing his 2020 performance among Latino voters, despite a last-minute effort by Democrats to engage this crucial group after Hinchcliffe’s controversial joke. Rivera observed that the Democrats’ focus on Puerto Rican voters arrived too late.
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“The Republican Party has been investing in Latino communities for years, and these early numbers show the impact,” she said. “We Democrats didn’t invest as we should have—shame on us. Many of us were out there knocking on doors, seeking funds to reach Puerto Rican voters but received no support. With Latinos, we couldn’t afford to miss these opportunities,” she added.
Rivera’s comments align with some exit polls from Election Day. One, reported by Niall Stanage from The Hill, shows a significant shift in support among Latino men from 2020 to 2024. By 2024, support had flipped, with 53 percent of Latino men backing Trump and 45 percent supporting Harris. In 2020, Latino men had favored Biden over Trump, 59 percent to 36 percent.
Rivera isn’t counting Harris out just yet, but she acknowledges that early numbers paint a tough picture, with Trump leading in key battleground states. The recent focus on the Latino vote—particularly outreach to the Puerto Rican community—was valuable but also served as a stark reminder of missteps along the way.
“We have a lot to do, and this shouldn’t have happened. Real change doesn’t happen in just ten days or one day,” she said.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has targeted young male voters, with Latinos as a key subgroup. In September, before the Madison Square Garden controversy, the former president rallied with Puerto Rican reggaeton stars Anuel AA and Nicky Jam—though Nicky Jam later withdrew his endorsement after last week’s events—as part of Trump’s strategy to attract young Latino men.
As the 2024 election entered its final stretch, the Latino community took center stage. Trump’s controversial joke about Puerto Rico and other remarks targeting Hispanics stirred tensions, prompting the Trump campaign to conduct damage control, while the Harris campaign seized the moment by rallying Latino superstars like Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez to their side.
Historically, Latinos have leaned toward the Democrat Party, but changing voting patterns have given Republicans new hope. Young Latinos are an increasingly influential voting bloc, with an estimated 17.5 million expected to vote in 2024, and one in five casting their ballot in a presidential election for the first time. According to UnidosUS, 38 percent of the Latino electorate has joined since the 2016 Trump-Clinton election.
