CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump capped off a rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday with an ominous 80-minute speech in which he denounced attacks on political opponents and immigrants and promised to invoke an 18th-century law paving the way for mass deportations. The curtain closed.
But it was the opening act of the New York City rally, a hodgepodge of donors, entertainers and MAGA politicians, that unleashed an 11th-hour campaign frenzy, with Democrats worried that this vendetta would hurt their standing. , prompting angry condemnation from some Republicans. moderate voters.
Local Trump supporters who dominated the speaker list ahead of the former president used the opportunity to air familiar grievances against some of the president’s favorite targets. One unsuccessful Republican House candidate called Harris the “Antichrist.”
He was almost invisible.
The rally began with comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe attacking Puerto Rico, the city with the largest Puerto Rican population in the continental United States. About 500,000 Puerto Ricans also live in Pennsylvania, the battleground state where Harris campaigned on Sunday.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but right now there are literally floating islands of trash in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The line was well-received by Trump supporters who filled the historic arena in midtown Manhattan. President Trump has recently railed against illegal immigrants, calling the United States “the trash can of the world.”
“These Latinos also love to have children. Just know that they do,” Hinchcliffe continued.
Tony Hinchcliffe criticizes Latinos and Puerto Rico in opening remarks at Trump rally
After the rally, the Trump campaign sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, who was an invited guest like the other speakers, and his comments about Puerto Rico.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign,” Trump campaign spokesperson Daniel Alvarez said in a statement to CNN.
But Harris’ campaign had already caught on to the comments about Puerto Rico and quickly cut the video and posted it on its social media channels. The vice president visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in north Philadelphia on Sunday and spoke about his vision for the island and his plans to reduce costs and create opportunities for Puerto Rican communities on the mainland.
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, whose album Un Verano Sin Ti was the most streamed album in the world in 2023, addressed his 45 million Instagram followers shortly after Hinchcliffe left the stage. Harris posted a video detailing her plans for Puerto Rico.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, whose re-election campaign relies on significant support from the state’s Puerto Rican community, joined in the backlash, writing about the “joke” about X: Puerto Ricans are great people and great Americans! ”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, another Florida Republican and close ally of President Trump, slammed the remarks. “It’s not a joke. It’s completely classless and in bad taste,” he said in X. “@TonyHinchcliffe is clearly not funny and definitely does not reflect my values or the values of the Republican Party.”
New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who is running for re-election, also said on X, “I’m proud to be Puerto Rican,” adding, “The only thing that was ‘trash’ was the terrible comedy set. Message Please wait.”
Mr Hinchcliffe also addressed the uproar on social media, saying his critics “have no sense of humour”.
“I love Puerto Rico and love vacationing there. I made fun of everyone…look at the whole set,” he wrote.
Mr. Trump, who was introduced by former first lady Melania Trump in his first speaking engagement at a rally this cycle, has made many comments, including his now-common claim that his political opponents are traitorous “enemies within.” He was mostly faithful to the script in his own words.
“We are fighting a huge, twisted, malicious left-wing organization that is running the Democratic Party,” the former president said. “They are smart and ferocious. They are the enemy within. We must defeat them.”
Another frontrunner, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, reiterated previous attacks on Harris and the idea, as he described it, that Americans would celebrate her possible election.
“It would be pretty hard to look at[this country after Harris won]and say, ‘Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes,’ because she’s so impressive. Samoa Mr. Carlson, the first former California prosecutor of Malaysian descent with a low IQ, said this before exclaiming that anyone who is not impressed with Mr. Harris will be called a “freak” or a “criminal.”
Republican politician David Rehm then took the microphone and called Harris “the devil” while waving a cross.
“She is the antichrist,” Lem shouted, adding that she planned to run for mayor.
Another speaker, radio host Sid Rosenberg, who once sat next to Don Imus on WFAN, the area’s largest sports station, began by talking about the Democratic candidate eight years ago. attacked Mr. Clinton.
“She’s a horrible asshole, isn’t she Hillary Clinton?” he said, bringing up Trump’s own past comments. “What a sick son.”
Mr. Rosenberg then turned his attention to the immigrants now living in New York City and directed his anger at local government’s attempts to feed and house them.
“Homeless people, veterans, Americans, Americans were sleeping in their own excrement on benches in Central Park,” Rosenberg said. “But illegal aliens get whatever they want, right?”
This story has been updated with information from the gathering.
