Puerto Rican celebrities are out en masse responding to a comedian’s crude comments about the island territory during former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend. Then on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a new policy platform she called the Puerto Rico Opportunity Economy Task Force.
With Puerto Rico in the headlines, we asked Amílcar Barreto, professor of cultures, societies and global studies at Northeastern, and interim director of the university’s International Affairs Program, to clarify the role U.S. territories play in electoral politics. His comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.