Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe under fire for Puerto Rico remarks at Trump rally

A comedian who spoke astatine a New York City rally for erstwhile President Donald Trump has acceptable disconnected a firestorm of protestation aft his remarks were peppered with racist and anti-immigrant “jokes”.

A time aft the event, the net was lit up connected Monday with outraged comments from politicians and Latino celebrities, denouncing the Trump run for hosting the speaker, comedian and podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe.

The rally, held astatine Madison Square Garden connected Sunday, featured astir 30 speakers, including immoderate who made a bid of racially charged and violative remarks aimed astatine Latinos, Black Americans and Jewish citizens.

Hinchcliffe, whose acceptable was intended to lukewarm up the crowd, veered into what galore described arsenic violative territory, quipping that Latinos “love making babies”, earlier likening their beingness to an “invasion of the country”.

He past went connected to say: “There’s a batch going on, like, I don’t cognize if you cognize this but there’s virtually a floating land of garbage successful the mediate of the water close now. Yeah. I deliberation it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Hinchcliffe, 40, continued with racially insensitive jokes, mentioning Black friends helium “carved watermelons” with and suggesting that Jewish radical “have a hard clip throwing paper”. His punchlines drew lone scattered applause from the crowd.

Republican statesmanlike campaigner and erstwhile US President Donald Trump departs pursuing a rally astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York City connected October 27 [Sarah Yenesel/EPA-EFE]

The comments astir Puerto Rico, reminiscent of Trump’s “sh–hole” countries remarks successful 2018, triggered swift ire from some Republicans and Democrats. Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Kamala Harris’s run characterised Hinchcliffe’s acceptable arsenic a “vile, racist tirade”.

“Who is that jackwad?” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris’s moving mate, besides said during a live-streamed lawsuit with Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican heritage.

“When you person immoderate a–hole calling Puerto Rico ‘floating garbage,’ cognize that that’s what they deliberation astir you. It’s what they deliberation astir anyone who makes little wealth than them,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Hinchcliffe, responding to Walz and Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, accused the 2 Democrats of having “no consciousness of humour”.

But it wasn’t conscionable Democrats who took purpose astatine Hinchcliffe’s arguable set. Some Republicans — and typically staunch allies of Trump — besides blasted the comedian’s incendiary rhetoric.

“This is not a joke,” Cuban-American and Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez posted online. “It’s wholly classless & successful mediocre taste,” added the erstwhile politician of Miami, Florida.

“Tony Hinchcliffe intelligibly isn’t comic & decidedly doesn’t bespeak my values oregon those of the Republican Party.”

Trump, too, distanced himself from the comedian and his comments.

“This gag does not bespeak the views of President Trump oregon the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a elder Trump run adviser, told Fox News.

Puerto Rican rappers Rene Perez Joglar, known by his signifier sanction Residente, and Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, known by his signifier sanction Bad Bunny, lukewarm up the assemblage successful beforehand of the Puerto Rican Capitol Building, earlier a protestation march against Governor Ricardo Rosello, successful San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, July 17, 2019 [Dennis M Rivera Pichardo/AP Photo]

Puerto Ricans react

High-profile figures similar popular prima Bad Bunny, with his 45 cardinal Instagram followers, on with histrion and vocalist Jennifer Lopez, singers Luis Fonsi and Ricky Martin, arsenic good arsenic writer Geraldo Rivera, rapidly condemned the comments connected societal media, calling them inflammatory and retired of touch.

“I volition ne'er hide what Donald Trump did and what helium did not bash erstwhile Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader,” Harris said successful a video reshared respective times connected Sunday by Bad Bunny, whose existent sanction is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio.

“He abandoned the island, tried to artifact assistance aft back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered thing much than insubstantial towels and insults,” Harris added, referring to a notorious incidental successful 2017 erstwhile Trump was giving retired alleviation supplies aft Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

Celebrities Martin and Lopez besides reshared Harris’s video to hundreds of millions much followers, with Martin adding “I retrieve @kamalaharris.”

A antheral stands successful a supermarket destroyed by Hurricane Maria successful Salinas, Puerto Rico [File:Alvin Baez/Reuters]

For the 5.8 cardinal Puerto Ricans surviving successful the US, galore of whom lived done the not-too-long-ago demolition of Hurricane Maria — and who felt abandoned by the Trump medication during alleviation efforts — the comments travel astatine a pivotal clip arsenic Trump and Harris stay gridlocked successful cardinal plaything states.

In battleground states similar Pennsylvania, for example, wherever astir 500,000 Puerto Ricans reside, it remains to beryllium seen if fallout from the comments astatine Sunday’s rally could outgo the erstwhile president cardinal votes.

Florida, especially, boasts the biggest diaspora, with much than 1.1 cardinal residents of Puerto Rican heritage. An further 180,000 combined Puerto Ricans unrecorded successful the swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona, which could find the result of the 2024 election.

Puerto Ricans are the second-largest Hispanic-origin colonisation successful the US, accounting for 9 percent of the wide Hispanic demographic, according to the Pew Research Center. Although Puerto Ricans residing successful Puerto Rico cannot ballot successful US statesmanlike elections, those who person moved to the mainland are allowed to registry to vote.