As former President Donald Trump backs community voting, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe speaks during the pre-show of the former president’s Madison Square Garden rally, saying it’s important to win the 2024 race. He vulgarly mocked Latino Americans, who are his main support group.
With nine days left until the election, President Trump has assembled his most popular surrogate candidates and allies, rallying thousands of people in midtown Manhattan’s reliably Deep Blue neighborhood.
Hinchcliffe won the first slot among about 30 warm-up speakers and began telling crude and derogatory jokes about the Middle East conflict, black voters and Latinos.
“These Latinos also love having kids. Just know that they do,” Hinchcliffe joked, adding: they don’t do that. They come into the country just like they did to our country. ”
Minutes later, the comedian launched a second attack against Puerto Ricans, a key voting demographic in the community.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but right now there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said to applause and jeers. He said as they flew around.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign,” Daniel Alvarez, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said in a statement.
Hinchcliffe also told a joke about one of his black “friends” and how they “carved a watermelon” together.
At the Madison Square Garden rally, many of the opening speakers made vulgar and derogatory comments about Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic politicians. Radio host Sid Rosenberg called Hillary Clinton a “sick b—- son,” and New York City Trump supporter David Lem said Harris was “the antichrist.”
Pennsylvania, the battleground state where Trump and Harris are closely contesting, is home to the third-largest Puerto Rican diaspora in the country. Last month, the former president publicly announced his support for the Republican Party by inviting Puerto Rican artist Anuel AA to the stage at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
In a livestream with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday afternoon, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, responded to the comedian’s comments.
“Who’s that Jack wad? Who is that guy?” Waltz asked after a clip of Hinchcliffe’s joke played on the stream.
“The people of Puerto Rico are a people. They pay taxes and serve in the military at almost a higher rate than anyone else,” Walz added, criticizing President Trump’s response to Hurricane Maria in 2017. did. It also includes a now-famous video clip of the then-president throwing a roll of paper towels at America. Puerto Ricans asking for help.
“Obviously, that’s very upsetting to me,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I want people to understand that when you’re doing something terrible like floating trash in Puerto Rico, that’s what they think of you.”
Hinchcliffe later said on social media that people like Walz and Ocasio-Cortez “have no sense of humor” and that his jokes were “taken out of context to make them seem racist”. did.
“I love Puerto Rico and I’m vacationing there. I teased everyone…look at the whole set,” he added.
But several Florida Republicans condemned Hinchcliffe’s comments.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) later wrote on social media that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s “racist comments.”
“This rhetoric does not reflect Republican values. Puerto Rico sent more than 48,000 soldiers to Vietnam and was awarded more than 345 Purple Hearts. This courage deserves respect,” she said. I wrote it.
“There’s a reason this joke bombed,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida wrote on X, adding, “It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are great people and great Americans. I’ve been to the island many times and it’s a very beautiful place. I will do everything I can to help Puerto Ricans in Florida and on the island. ”
Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) also criticized Hinchcliffe’s comments, calling them “completely undignified” and in “bad taste.”
“Puerto Rico is the crown jewel of the Caribbean and home to some of the most patriotic Americans I know,” Jimenez told X. “@TonyHinchcliffe is clearly not funny and definitely does not reflect my values or the values of the Republican Party.” ”
Puerto Rico, home to more than 3 million U.S. citizens according to the 2020 Census, experienced a large-scale overseas migration to the U.S. mainland after Hurricane Maria hit the island territory in 2017.
Puerto Ricans living on the island are not eligible to vote in presidential elections, even though they are U.S. citizens (the commonwealth conducts elections and awards delegates to both Democratic and Republican primary candidates).
But their relatives on the mainland can.
Harris revealed her plans for Puerto Rico on Sunday while campaigning in Pennsylvania, posting details on her social media accounts and adding a section to her campaign website. Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny shared Harris’ announcement with his more than 45 million followers on Instagram.
