Comments by "Paul Frederick" (@1pcfred) on "Joe on the Tony Hinchcliffe Trump Rally Backlash" video.

That's the way I look at it. Puerto Rico is completely ignored. I bet most Americans don't even know that Puerto Rico is a US territory. Puerto Ricans are literally US citizens. Yes Puerto Rico is independently governed. It's still a weird deal with being a US territory though. It's not actually a completely different country. Because so far Puerto Ricans themselves haven't voted for it. So until they do Puerto Rico is part of America. I was looking at the stats the other night and I don't know about them not achieving statehood someday. I could see it happening if the present economic trend continues. I used to think it was impossible but now I'm not so sure. The place is making some money. So is that the play? What do you think are more Puerto Ricans looking for statehood or independence? Which way do you want to go? Or are you all happy as a territory?
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People with Puerto Rican heritage should find out what's going on on their island now. Because by all accounts the place could stand for some improvements.
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That's not what Tony said at all. He said the island they live on is trash and it arguably is. It could certainly be in far better shape than it is in today. Puerto Rico is a US territory. It's no third world dump. But just looking at it you could easily confuse it for one. That needs to change.
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Puerto Rico can't vote in national elections. Not being a state they have no delegates assigned to them. Puerto Ricans residing in states can vote though. I'd hope they'd be smart enough to understand the issue Tony was raising. Their home island could use some aid. A lot of aid really. It'd be nice if America paid a little attention to the place occasionally.
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Throwing paper towels is more than Kamala has ever done.
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Oh this could very easily be turned around. I think this may be the first time Puerto Rico was ever mentioned in a national election. It's huge. You do realise that Puerto Rico does belong to us, don't you? Everyone on that island is a US citizen. None of them can vote. But that shouldn't really matter. They're still our countrymen.
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Puerto Rico is not a country. Puerto Rico is a US territory. It literally belongs to us. Every Puerto Rican is a US citizen by birth. They were born on US soil.
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Why's that? Are Puerto Ricans stupid? They ought be thrilled they were even mentioned in a national election. That's completely unprecedented. There's a reason they're ignored. They have no delegates. Puerto Rico is part of the USA but it isn't a state. Only states get delegates. So Puerto Rico has exactly nothing when it comes to votes. But they are all US citizens. Disenfranchised citizens. Them getting any mention at all on the national stage is huge. Tony did that. No one else. No one ever. There's a first time for everything. They might have started out as a floating pile of trash but there's nowhere to go but up from there. It's a start. I think as a nation we should have a conversation about Puerto Rico. It does belong to us. Ignoring it and hoping it'll just go away isn't working. That's what we've been doing. I don't think that's fair to Puerto Ricans though. It's a bad look for us too.
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When you look into it you find out that's the case. He didn't say the people or the island was trash. They literally do have a genuine trash problem. It's very common with islands. You can't drive very far in any direction and just dump trash.
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This race shouldn't even be close. If Trump loses then we deserve what we get. That's democracy for ya.
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Maybe those Puerto Ricans should go home and see what's going on. I can't imagine any Puerto Ricans on the island not knowing exactly what Tony was talking about. Puerto Rico is a US territory so the condition the island is in is on us. It's our pile of trash. We need to clean it up too.
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The real burn is that Puerto Rico isn't just any island though. It is a US territory. So it's really our floating island of trash that we are wholly responsible for. But being just a territory and not a state Puerto Rico has no delegates. So no presidential candidate would ever waste their time mentioning the place. You can't pick up a single vote from there. So Tony even saying the name it probably the first time it's ever happened. It's historic. He put Puerto Rico on the map.
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Puerto Ricans are Americans too. But no one called them trash. Just the island they live on. Which does have an endemic problem with well trash. They have a lot of problems.
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More awareness for Puerto Rico across the board. It's the forgotten land. They're like America's red headed stepchild. They got a totally raw deal after the hurricane. For better or worse as things stand today Puerto Rico is still a US territory. So they're our responsibility. We're busy giving money to other countries and we can't even take care of our own.
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@ChrisPBacon2 I honestly think Puerto Rico stands an excellent chance of attaining statehood someday. There was a time when I wouldn't have thought it possible. Not today though. Puerto Rico has a sizable GDP. That's what it's really all about. It's always about the money.
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@opinionated4219 I think we maintain some kind of a navy base there. But I think military presence has been decreasing. I was reading something about it the other day. Something like 6,000 jobs were lost when we pulled out. We used to use the island for gunnery practice. But the natives asked us to stop so we did. Since then relations have cooled somewhat. I guess the Navy only likes you if they can shell you. Puerto Ricans are a fickle bunch. They don't want to be independent and they don't want to be a state either. Limbo must be a popular local sport.
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@cruisecbrklyn there's good and bad with everything. Personally I was happy to hear Puerto Rico mentioned on the national stage. It's the first time I remember it ever happening. I feel awareness needs to be raised about Puerto Rico in the country. Most Americans probably don't even know Puerto Rico is part of America.
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@stevendiaz9920 like most Americans my knowledge of Puerto Rico is extremely limited. So I think the mere mention of Puerto Rico in a national election is the most important aspect of all of this. When Tony said that joke I looked into the garbage situation on Puerto Rico. What I found was not nothing. Like most islands Puerto Rico has an ongoing concern with where it landfills its waste. It's a real thing. then I did a bit more reading about Puerto Rico. The population, The GDP. I'd never have seen any of that if it wasn't for the joke. What I found was all pretty surprising to me and completely unknown. You've got quite the operation going on out there.
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@vaskakam4147 the flat joke did have the effect of putting Puerto Rico on the national stage. Which is no small feat. I've heard more about Puerto Rico lately than I've heard in my whole life. It's always been out there. Just no one bothers to give it much thought. I do love me some Tito Puente. Hit the Bongo!
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@stevendiaz9920 we got that corruption problem here too. I swear they're all on the take.
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What's Kamala's plan? This is the first time Puerto Rico has ever been mentioned in a national election that I can even remember.
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I went to Alabama once. The place really is as sketchy as everyone says it is. Least the part I visited was. But it was a number of years ago now too.
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