Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian and one of the openers for former President Donald Trump at his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday has infamously referred to Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage,” – a joke that immediately drew immediate criticism from Democrats and two Florida Republicans, and prompted Trump’s campaign to dissociate itself from the label.
Hinchcliffe who is a roast comic for a live podcast show “Kill Tony”— had opened Sunday’s rally as one of many speakers for the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, saying:
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The remark was met with hesitancy by the crowd, prompting Hinchcliffe to laugh and add, “Okay, we’re getting there, again, normally I don’t follow the national anthem.”
Following Hinchcliffe’s outburst, the Trump campaign senior advisor Daniella Alvarez said in a statement to Forbes “… [His] joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
Online, the comedian’s comment has been met with heavy criticism, with Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., taking to his X account (formerly known as Twitter) to post: “As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage.”
At another point in the speech, Hinchcliffe said that Latino people “love making babies” just before telling a raunchy joke, leading Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to call it a “vile racist tirade against Latinos.”
Harris’ running mate, the Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, also reaponded to the clip of Hinchcliffe’s joke, calling Hinchcliffe a “jackwad.”
Responding to the criticism on social media, Hinchcliffe said, “these people have no sense of humor,” adding: “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set. I’m a comedian.”
Some of the other speakers at Trump’s rally had also made questionable comments.
Trump’s childhood friend David Rem dubbed Harris “the antichrist,” and a radio host, Sid Rosenberg called Hillary Clinton “a sick son of a b***ch” and said “f***ing illegals … get whatever they want.”
Businessman Grant Cardone labelled Harris a metaphorical prostitute by saying she and “her pimp handlers will destroy our country.” Also, a Former Fox host Tucker Carlson ridiculed Harris’ race, saying she could become “the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president” (Note that Harris’ parents hailed from India and Jamaica).
With less than nine days until the U.S election, Trump took his campaign to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, while Harris went to campaign in Philadelphia leaving her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to lead the Democrat campaign in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas.
