Puerto Rico GOP leader won't vote for Trump unless he apologizes for comedian's remarks
Puerto Rico GOP Chair Ángel Cintrón says he will not vote for Donald Trump in Puerto Rico’s symbolic presidential poll on Election Day unless the former president personally apologizes for a comedian’s remarks at his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
Speaking on "Jugando Pelota Dura," a local political debate show, Cintrón repudiated comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and initially downplayed the territorial Republican Party's affiliation with the national campaign.
“At this moment we have no effects, no ties, because we don’t vote in November for [Trump],” said Cintrón, referring to the fact that Puerto Ricans, though U.S. citizens, can only vote for president if they are residents of the District of Columbia or one of the 50 states.
“There’s a ballot,” Dennise Pérez, a member of the panel, interjected.
Puerto Rico is including a controversial “presidential preference ballot” in its electoral package for Election Day, in which local residents will choose among Trump, Vice President Harris or write-in candidates in a nonbinding presidential poll.
Opponents of the ballot measure say its cost outweighs any benefits, expecting the results of the informal poll will largely be ignored on the mainland.
Supporters say it’s a democratic exercise that will help the cause of statehood for the U.S. territory by showing how many Puerto Ricans support the Republican Party, quashing the notion that Puerto Rico would invariably choose two Democratic senators.
Hinchcliffe’s words equating Puerto Rico to an oceanic garbage patch — since repudiated by the Trump campaign by a spokeswoman — could hurt that effort by pushing Republicans such as Cintrón to withhold their vote from Trump.
“If Donald Trump does not apologize to Puerto Rico, I definitely won’t vote for him,” Cintrón said.
Trump is expected to address the issue in a press conference from Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.
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