Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden was planned as a national moment for the former president’s closing campaign message and — much to the displeasure of some Republicans — it did exactly that.
Trump and his ilk have not been particularly quiet about their views on immigrants. This campaign cycle has seen the former president refer to migrants as “poisoning the blood of our country,” invent a mythical “migrant crime wave” to demonize undocumented immigrants, and promise “bloody” mass deportations. If the racism is loud at most Trump events, it was screamed into the national microphone on Sunday — and no one was louder than “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe.
Hinchcliffe took it upon himself to upstage the former president, describing Latinos as mindless breeders and referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” In an election where Republicans hope to win over Latino voters in critical states, an arena of 19,500 people laughing alongside Hinchcliffe’s demonstration of the overt racism that now defines the GOP’s politics was, to put it mildly, a disastrous look.
As Kamala Harris aides watched livestreams of the event with delight, Trump’s Manhattan rally — particularly the “jokes” — were met with a decidedly different reception among much of the Republican elite, who are largely expecting the 2024 presidential race to come down to the slimmest of margins and feel that every little misstep and unforced error could count for something.
“Who booked this fucking jerk?” a close Trump ally asked Rolling Stone, rhetorically, on Sunday. “Never heard of him.”
According to two other sources familiar with the matter, just as the Trump-aligned comedian’s comments began going viral, Latino Republicans and other Trump associates frantically messaged and called aides and longtime advisers to the former president while the rally was ongoing, insisting that the campaign immediately address the right-wing comic’s remarks on Latinos and the American territory of Puerto Rico. Some suggested Trump or his campaign should firmly denounce their own warm-up act’s set in a statement.
“It’s fine, not like Donald Trump needs Latinos to vote for him or anything,” one of the sources, a well-connected GOP and Trump donor, noted sarcastically.
Later on Sunday, the intra-party freakout seems to have led to the Trump campaign issuing a statement, even if it wasn’t an emphatic condemnation. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump Senior Advisor Danielle Alvarez told NBC News in a perfunctory statement.
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, who is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, condemned Hinchcliffe’s set. “This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) wrote on X that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s comments, claiming that his “rhetoric does not reflect GOP values.”
In a post on Threads, Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), wrote that she felt that “this rally could backfire. How is this winning over moderates and independents exactly? This is maga on steroids.”
Like all comedians who believe racism and vitriol are an acceptable substitute for actual humor, Hinchcliffe claimed that he had been taken out of context — and that the real problem was the humorless puritans who criticized him.
“These people have no sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe wrote in response to a discussion of his statements between Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “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. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set.”
Plenty of people watched his Trump rally set, and the consensus — even among the GOP — was that Hinchcliffe bombed so badly that Republican politicians had little choice but to run away from him as fast as possible.