Did Puerto Rico Host A 50,000-Person 'Anti-Trump' Rally? AOC's Claim Fact-Checked

Fire band New York House representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a picture of a crowd on X claiming that it is from a rally in support of the Kamala Harris campaign in Puerto Rico. AOC claimed that it was the second-largest rally in the 2024 election campaign trail, with over 50,000 attending. Harris's speech at The Ellipse in Washington DC was the largest, with 75,000 in audience, she said.However, many users on X pointed out that the picture shared by AOC is a form of a festival in Puerto Rico, called Festival de la Esperanza. It is hosted by the anti-colonial parties of Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC) and Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP). Soon after, the Elon Musk-owned platform added a community note underneath the post saying the image was from the festival. Notably, the festival saw the presence of several major Kamala Harris endorsers, such as rapper Bad Bunny, who made an appearance on stage, as well as AOC herself, who sent a video message for the occasion. However, despite the presence of several anti-Trump faces, the rally, as such, was not explicitly in support of Kamala Harris. The election in Puerto Rico is particularly noteworthy due to the presence of a strong third-party candidate, Juan Dalmau, from the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC) and Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP). The MVC and the PIP were the hosts of the festival on Sunday.It reflects a shift in voter sentiment, with younger voters increasingly dissatisfied with the traditional parties, which have dominated Puerto Rican politics for decades, as per a report by NBC 4 of New York.