Racist comments are something of a given at Trump rallies, but one remark from Sunday’s event at Madison Square Garden seemed to have broken through the noise. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and joked that Latinos don’t use birth control.
“These Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do,” Hinchliffe told the crowd. “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.”
The comments drew swift condemnation from Puerto Rican celebrities and politicians, including Bad Bunny, AOC, Jennifer Lopez, and Luis Fonsi. Social media also lit up with memes and posts showing scenes of Puerto Rico’s beautiful coastline and rainforests juxtaposed with jokes about “garbage.”
Even Trump’s campaign seems to have recognized that they messed up. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” a senior adviser said in a statement.
Trump himself has not commented on the jokes or the response, but his running mate, JD Vance, dismissed it as harmless. “We’re not going to restore the greatness of American civilization if we get offended at every little thing,” he told reporters.
Politico reported that many Puerto Rican voters in swing states like Pennsylvania are furious about the comments, and plan to protest the campaign event Trump is holding there on Tuesday.
Trump was in office when Hurricanes Maria and Irma struck Puerto Rico in 2017, leading to more than 3,000 deaths. During a visit to the island, he was famously photographed throwing rolls of paper towels to residents seeking aid.
Below, we round up what people are saying online about Hinchliffe’s joke and the fallout it has caused.
X content
X content
X content
X content
X content
X content
X content
X content
X content
At the same rally, Hinchliffe also joked about Black people carving watermelons instead of pumpkins, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked the identity of VP Kamala Harris, who is Black and of Jamaican and Indian descent. Carlson joked about the chances of “the first Samoan Malaysian low I.Q. former California prosecutor" winning election.
X content
A number of commenters urged Puerto Ricans to take remarjs like this at face value. “When you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico 'floating garbage,' know that's what they think about you," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said on a Twitch stream with Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz.
