(NEW YORK) — Former president Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday was framed as his “closing argument” in his bid for the White House and as a way to bring a diverse group of supporters together.
Instead, it included divisive language and racist insults aimed at some of the very voters Trump has been working to attract.
Causing the most backlash were comments from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made explicit jokes about Latinos and turned to Trump recently calling the United States the “garbage can” of the world.
With just about a week until Election Day, the rally was an opportunity for the Trump campaign to connect with Hispanic and Black Americans, voters the Trump campaign is attempting to court in deep-Blue New York.
His campaign instead was forced to try to respond to distance Trump from the comedian the campaign had chosen to speak at his high-profile event.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump campaign’s senior adviser Danielle Alvarez wrote in a statement to ABC News about the “island of garbage remark.”
Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added on Fox News on Monday morning that Hinchcliffe’s joke was in “poor taste.”
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign immediately slammed Hinchcliffe’s comments, pointing to how Harris would work to support Puerto Rico — a key voting bloc that Harris targeted during a stop in swing state Pennsylvania over the weekend.
“Puerto Ricans deserve better,” she said in a Sunday video post on X.
The backlash to Hinchcliffe’s comments kicked up in Puerto Rico from both sides of the political aisle. Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Republican who is running to be the island’s governor, called the comedian’s comments “despicable, inappropriate and disgusting.” The Republican Party of Puerto Rico also denounced Hinchcliffe’s comments, with party chair Angel Cintrón writing that they were “unfortunate, ignorant, and entirely reprehensible.”
Hinchcliffe responded to criticism from Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz — who ripped the comedian for the “island of garbage comments.
“These people have no sense of humor. Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist,” Hinchcliffe wrote on social media. “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set.”
While Puerto Rico does not vote for president in the general election since it is a U.S. territory, the Republican Party of Puerto Rico held a primary in April as part of its presidential nominating process. That primary was won by Trump, who netted the territory’s delegates.
The controversy is not a first for Hinchcliffe, who has a history of making racially charged jokes.
In 2021, he came under fire after calling fellow comedian Peng Dang racist names in a mocking Chinese accent.
It was during a Big Laugh Comedy show in Austin, Texas, where Dang had just introduced Hinchcliffe to the stage after doing a series of jokes related to #StopAsianHate. During the set, Hinchcliffe reportedly further made racist jokes against Chinese people.
The incident led to the cancellation of several of Hinchcliffe’s upcoming shows and reportedly caused him to be removed from his agency, WME.
Other pre-program speakers at the Madison Square Garden rally also made false and harmful remarks about Harris. Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris “and her pimp handlers will destroy our country;” Trump’s friend David Rem called her “the devil” and “the anti-Christ.”
Former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson also made racially charged jokes aimed at Harris; radio host Sid Rosenberg used expletives to describe undocumented immigrants and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also repeated disparaging rhetoric on Palestinians.
Trump’s campaign has still only condemned one comment — those from Hinchcliffe — in a long list of sexist, racist and profane remarks that were made during his Madison Square Garden campaign rally.
In the final weeks of his campaign, Trump has regularly used vulgar, dark and shocking rhetoric to paint a picture of a country being “destroyed” – attacking migrants and his opponent’s intelligence.
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