Former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday was billed as his “closing argument” in his White House bid and a way to bring together a diverse group of supporters.
Instead, it included divisive language and racist slurs aimed at some of the voters Trump was working to attract.
What drew the most backlash were comments from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made explicit jokes about Latinos and took aim at Trump, recently calling the United States the “trash” of the world.
“I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island full of trash in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said. declared.
Hinchcliffe singled out a black supporter in the crowd, trying to make a joke about carving watermelons for Halloween. He also made anti-Palestinian and anti-Semitic comments.
When Trump supporters in the audience seemed uncomfortable with his attempted jokes, Hinchcliffe quickly noticed the lack of response from the crowd. He made the jokes in the city with the largest Puerto Rican population outside the island.
Tony Hinchcliffe speaks to former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024, in New York.
Evan Vucci/AP
With 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 trying to court in deep-blue New York.
Instead, his campaign was forced to try to push back to distance Trump from the comedian the campaign had chosen to speak at its high-profile event.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, wrote in a statement to ABC News about the “garbage island remark.”
Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt added Monday morning on Fox News that Hinchcliffe’s joke was in “bad taste.”
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign immediately criticized Hinchcliffe’s comments, highlighting how Harris would work to support Puerto Rico – a key voting bloc that Harris targeted during a stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania this weekend -end.
“Puerto Ricans deserve better,” she said in a video posted Sunday on X.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on stage during a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on October 27, 2024.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Negative reactions to Hinchcliffe’s comments came in Puerto Rico from both sides of the political aisle. Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Republican running for governor of the island, called the comedian’s comments “despicable, inappropriate and disgusting.” The Puerto Rico Republican Party also denounced Hinchcliffe’s comments, with party Chairman Angel Cintrón writing that they were “unfortunate, ignorant and entirely reprehensible.”
Hinchcliffe responded to criticism from Harris’ running mate, Governor Tim Walz – who slammed the comedian for his “garbage island comments”.
“These people have no sense of humor. It’s crazy that a vice presidential candidate would take the time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context for make it seem racist,” Hinchcliffe wrote on social media. “I love Puerto Rico and my vacations there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole shoot.”
Although Puerto Rico does not vote for president in the general election since it is a U.S. territory, the Puerto Rico Republican Party held a primary in April as part of its presidential nomination process. This primary was won by Trump, who attracted delegates from the territory.
The controversy is not a first for Hinchcliffe, who has a history of making racist jokes.
In 2021, he came under fire after calling fellow comedian Peng Dang racist names in a mocking Chinese accent.
It was at a Big Laugh Comedy show in Austin, Texas, where Dang had just introduced Hinchcliffe on stage after making a series of jokes related to #StopAsianHate. During filming, Hinchcliffe also allegedly made racist jokes against the Chinese.
The incident led to the cancellation of several of Hinchcliffe’s upcoming shows and reportedly resulted in his dismissal from his agency, WME.
Supporters applaud as former Republican President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, October 27, 2024, in New York.
Evan Vucci/AP
Other pre-show speakers at the Madison Square Garden rally also made false and damaging remarks about Harris. Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris “and his pimps would destroy our country”; Trump’s friend David Rem called her “the devil” and “the antichrist.”
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 Mayor Rudy Giuliani also repeated derogatory rhetoric toward the Palestinians.
Trump’s campaign has yet to condemn just one comment — Hinchcliffe’s — among a long list of sexist, racist and crude remarks made at his campaign rally at Madison Square Garden.
In the final weeks of his campaign, Trump regularly used vulgar, dark and shocking rhetoric to paint a picture of a “destroyed” country, attacking migrants and his opponent’s intelligence.
