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After Donald Trump‘s Sunday night rally at Madison Square Garden drew backlash for the comments of several of its speakers, a spokeswoman distanced the campaign from at least one of them.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who often appears on The Joe Rogan Show and has a podcast Kill Tony that’s been around for almost a decade, was hired to provide the laughs but his comments about Blacks, Mexicans, Jews, Palestinians, and Puerto Rico didn’t go over as well he planned.
While he made several comments that were more hateful than funny, he called Puerto Rico out specifically as a “floating island of garbage.” Several Puerto Rican celebrities who have made few public appearances on behalf of the Harris/Walz ticket were moved to take action and throw their public support behind the campaign after the rally.
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who has more than 45 million Instagram followers, used his platform to post a video in support of Harris.
Per The Washington Post, the rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, confirmed that the post was an official endorsement of Harris.
Jennifer Lopez who has encouraged her 250M followers to vote but not explicitly endorsed a candidate, reposted the video with a Puerto Rican flag, a voting emoji and a hand clap emoji.
Singer Ricky Martin also posted the video, alleging that X was censoring his pro-Harris posts. His fellow Puerto Rican singer, Luis Fonsi, posted to his social media platforms as well, captioning his post, “We are not OK with this constant hate. It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us and yet they want our vote. I purposely wrote this in English cause yes we’re American too.”
The Trump campaign distanced itself from Hinchcliffe’s routine. Danielle Alvarez, a senior aide said in a statement, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
But they drew the ire of other prominent Puerto Rican celebrities and politicians. Salsa king Mark Anthony joined the chorus of voices in the backlash against the comedian’s comments.
On The View, co-host Sonny Hostin, who identifies as an Afro-Latina and whose family is from Puerto Rico, referenced how many Puerto Ricans live in states that are critical to the election. And, she said that musicians Martin, Lopez, Bad Bunny, Fonsi and Anthony have a combined reach of over 300M followers, more than Trump.
“This Puerto Rican has something to say about the island that I love, where my family is from. Puerto Rico is trash? We are Americans, Donald Trump,” she said, concluding with, “My fellow Puerto Ricans, trash collection day is November 5, 2024. Don’t forget it.”
New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio Cortez echoed many of her fellow Puerto Ricans when she said, “When you have some a–h—- calling Puerto Rico ‘floating garbage,’ know that that’s what they think about you. It’s what they think about anyone who makes less money than them,” she said in an appearance with Harris’ running mate Walz on Twitch.
Hinchcliffe, says he’s a politically incorrect comedian and people missed the joke. In response to Walz, who said Puerto Rican voters should “send a clear message,” he said, “I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone … watch the whole set.”
He added, “I’m a comedian, Tim. And then, referencing Walz’s derisive nickname for providing students in Minnesota with menstrual supplies, said, “Might be time to change your tampon.”
See how social media is reacting to the joke below.
