A comedian attending a Donald Trump rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” sparking outrage and accusations of racism from Republicans and Democrats.
Comic Tony Hinchcliffe spoke Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York. He also made a series of jokes based on racist stereotypes.
Trump’s aides distanced themselves from the former president over the Puerto Rico joke, which Trump’s Democratic rival Kamala Harris also criticized. Harris herself was targeted by another Trump warm-up speaker who sparked controversy.
Outrage erupted when Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, one of the world’s biggest Latin celebrities, endorsed Harris for president.
Hinchcliffe, known as Kill Tony, joked: “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but right now there’s literally an island of trash floating in the middle of the ocean. Puerto Rico.”
This line has been met with mixed reactions. Two Republican lawmakers from Florida, a state with a large Puerto Rican population, were among those who condemned the joke.
U.S. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar said she was “disgusted” by the “racist comments.” She referred to the Republican Party in
“This joke was made for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true,” said U.S. Senator Rick Scott. “Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans,” he added.
Puerto Rico is an American island territory in the Caribbean. Its residents cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, but there is a large diaspora across the country that can vote.
Hinchcliffe also suggested that Latinos “love making babies.”
He drew groans from the audience by drawing racist analogies about black people and watermelons, and in the same sentence called Palestinians stone throwers while suggesting Jews would not spend money.
The comedian later defended his material. “These people have no sense of humor,” he wrote in
He added, “I love Puerto Rico and vacationing there. I teased everyone… Watch the whole set.”
Ocasio-Cortez said, “You don’t ‘love Puerto Rico.’ You like drinking piña coladas. There’s a difference.”
She previously said Hinchcliffe’s comments were “very upsetting” and pointed out that her family is from Puerto Rico.
Other speakers that night sparked controversy with their comments. David Rehm, Trump’s childhood friend, called Harris the “devil” and “antichrist.”
And Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani falsely claimed the Democratic candidate had been “on the side of terrorists” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Although most of the focus was on comments from guest speakers, Trump used the opportunity to announce a tax credit plan for those who care for parents or loved ones. “It’s time for them to be recognized,” he said.
He also reiterated plans to deport illegal immigrants in large numbers, saying he wanted to “rescue” places that have been “invaded and conquered” by “evil, bloodthirsty criminals.”
Earlier Sunday, Harris announced policies to help Puerto Ricans, garnering support from Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny, both of whom have Puerto Rican parents. Many famous celebrities are already supporting her.
Bad Bunny features Harris talking about the island, ideas for helping residents and attacking Trump for how he handled Hurricane Maria as president after a deadly storm killed nearly 3,000 people there in 2017. We have posted several videos containing:
Sources close to Bad Bunny confirmed to the BBC’s US partner CBS News that this represented an endorsement of Harris and a break with his long-standing tradition of staying out of national politics.
Over the past seven years, there have been cases of residents moving from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States, including Florida, and swing states such as North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Puerto Ricans are reportedly currently the second largest Latino subgroup in the state.
Bad Bunny’s comments appeared to have been premeditated, and he made no mention of Hinchcliffe’s comments. But fellow Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin urged fans to vote for Harris, saying “this is what they think of us.”
According to the Pew Research Center, about 36 million Hispanic voters are eligible to vote this year. They have typically formed a core plank of the Democratic coalition, but Republicans have been gobbling up that support.
getty imagesMadison Square Garden, near the city center, is one of the most famous venues in the world and seats approximately 20,000.
This is Trump’s hometown and the city where he received his historic criminal conviction earlier this year.
New York, seen by some as an interesting choice for the final weeks of the campaign, is a solid blue state and is unlikely to play a decisive role in the White House race.
Who is Tony Hinchcliffe?
Tony Hinchcliffe is a stand-up comedian based in Austin, Texas, known for his podcast Kill Tony, which gives stand-up comedians the opportunity to audition for 60 seconds before Hinchcliffe and his co-host Brian Redban.
The podcast has 1.89 million YouTube subscribers.
The comedian grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and described himself as a “class clown.” He got his start in the comedy world working with Joe Rogan and writing jokes for celebrities on the Comedy Central Roast.
This is not the first time some of his comments have made headlines for their offensive nature.
In 2021, he used a racial slur when referring to American comedian Peng Deng on the set of a comedy and refused to apologize.
“I knew what I did wasn’t wrong,” Hinchcliffe told Vanity Fair. “It was outrageous because it was a joke, and my position is that a comedian should never apologize for a joke.” “
Hinchcliffe was one of the comedians who appeared on the Netflix comedy roast of former NFL star Tom Brady earlier this year.
Additional reporting by James FitzGerald and Ana Faguy
North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher covers the White House race in the weekly US Election Unspun newsletter.
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