Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe under fire for his comments in Puerto Rico at Trump rally | News about the 2024 US election

A comedian who spoke at a rally in New York City for former President Donald Trump has sparked a firestorm of protests after his remarks were peppered with racist and anti-immigrant “jokes.”

A day after the event, the Internet on Monday was abuzz with outraged comments from politicians and Latino celebrities denouncing Trump's campaign as host of speaker, comedian and podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe.

The rally, held at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, featured nearly 30 speakers, including some who made a range of racially motivated and offensive remarks aimed at Latinos, Black Americans and Jewish citizens.

Hinchcliffe, whose performance was intended to warm up the audience, ventured into what many described as offensive territory, joking that Latinos “love making babies” before comparing their presence to an “invasion of the country.”

He then continued: “There's a lot going on, I don't know if you know this, but right now there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.” Yes. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Hinchcliffe, 40, continued with racially insensitive jokes, mentioning black friends with whom he had “carved watermelons” and suggesting that Jews “have a hard time throwing paper.” His punchlines drew only scattered applause from the crowd.

The comments on Puerto Rico, reminiscent of Trump's comments about the “crappy” countries in 2018, quickly sparked anger among Republicans and Democrats. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign called Hinchcliffe's appearance a “vile, racist tirade.”

“Who is this jackass?” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris' vice president, said the same thing during a live broadcast with Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican descent.

“If any of you have a hole that Puerto Rico calls 'floating trash,' know that that's what they think of you. It’s about what they think about anyone who makes less money than them,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

Hinchcliffe responded to Walz and Ocasio-Cortez's comments, accusing the two Democrats of having “no sense of humor.”

But it wasn't just Democrats who took aim at Hinchcliffe's controversial sentence. Some Republicans — and typically loyal allies of Trump — also criticized the comedian's inflammatory rhetoric.

“This is not a joke,” Cuban-American Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez wrote online. “It’s completely classless and tasteless,” the former mayor of Miami, Florida, added.

“Tony Hinchcliffe is clearly not funny and definitely does not reflect my values ​​or those of the Republican Party.”

Trump also distanced himself from the comedian and his statements.

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a senior Trump campaign adviser, told Fox News.

Puerto Ricans are reacting

Prominent figures such as pop star Bad Bunny, with his 45 million Instagram followers, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, singers Luis Fonsi and Ricky Martin, and journalist Geraldo Rivera were quick to condemn the comments on social media, calling them inflammatory and out of touch .

“I will never forget what Donald Trump did and didn’t do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and competent leader,” Harris said in a video that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, shared several times on Sunday .

“He left the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults,” Harris added, referring to an infamous incident in 2017 when Trump followed the devastation Hurricane Maria relief supplies distributed across the island.

Celebrities Martin and Lopez also reshared Harris' video with hundreds of millions more followers, with Martin adding, “I remember @kamalaharris.”

For the 5.8 million Puerto Ricans living in the U.S., many of whom witnessed the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria not long ago — and who felt abandoned by the Trump administration in the relief effort — the comments hit home crucial time as Trump and Harris remain deadlocked in key swing states.

In battleground states like Pennsylvania, for example, home to nearly 500,000 Puerto Ricans, it remains to be seen whether the fallout from comments at Sunday's rally could cost the former president key votes.

Florida, in particular, has the largest diaspora, with more than 1.1 million residents of Puerto Rican descent. Another 180,000 Puerto Ricans live together in the swing states of Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, which could decide the outcome of the 2024 elections.

According to the Pew Research Center, Puerto Ricans are the second largest population of Hispanic origin in the United States, accounting for nine percent of the total Hispanic population. Although Puerto Ricans residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, those who have moved to the mainland are allowed to register as voters.