Comedian at Trump rally calls Puerto Rico 'floating island of garbage', backlash leads Puerto Rican stars to endorse Harris

At a political rally for the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a comedian warming up the crowd made several racially-charged jokes.

The comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, called the island of Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and said black people "carved watermelons" instead of pumpkins for Halloween, among other "jokes".

However, the ensuing backlash has led prominent Puerto Rican personalities, including Bad Bunny, to express their support for Trump's opponent Kamala Harris.

Madison Square Garden

Trump was holding a packed political rally in Madison Square Garden, in New York City.

The six-hour rally was marked by the appearance of numerous celebrities, such as pro wrestler Hulk Hogan, talk show host Tucker Carlson, and social media investor Elon Musk.

Even Trump's wife Melania made a rare appearance and speech.

Trump’s speech was broadly similar to other speeches that he had given before, railing against a “radical left-wing” and an “enemy within”; it was the speakers who preceded him who drew fresh ire.

Whether it was Tucker Carlson’s curious accusation of Harris being “Samoan Malaysian” (she is of African-American and Indian heritage), or being accused of being “the Antichrist”, one speaker stole the show.

Floating garbage island

Tony Hinchliffe, the host of the "Kill Tony" podcast, is a comedian known for "roast comedy", a format where comedians invite a guest of honour to insult and be insulted by.

Taking the stage to warm up the crowd, he told two racially-charged jokes targeting Latinos in general and Puerto Ricans in particular.

Clips of the performance showed Hinchcliffe saying, “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico” pic.twitter.com/IXbXqDijyU

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 27, 2024

He also made several “crude” remarks about the Latino community, apparently mocking their family planning methodology saying, “These Latinos, they love making babies”.

If that wasn't enough, he also made a joke about black people and watermelons, a long-standing offensive stereotype of the black community.

Backlash from within and without

Hinchcliffe's remarks caused significant backlash, not just with Democratic and Latino groups, but also with Republicans seeking election in areas with large Latino communities.

Swing community

Harris herself was in the most significant swing state, Pennsylvania, campaigning with Puerto Rican and African American groups.

New York Times reported that Harris had spoken directly about increasing investment in the Caribbean island, which is a U.S. territory.

People hailing from Puerto Rico are by default U.S. citizens, but because the island is not a state, its roughly three million citizens do not vote in the presidential election.

However, there are almost six million people of Puerto Rican descent who have moved to the U.S. mainland, and are able to vote when they become residents of a mainland state.

In Pennsylvania, where election polls indicate the state is too close to call, there are an estimated 600,000 Latinos, the vast majority of whom are of Puerto Rican descent, making courting them a very high priority.

Centro De Periodismo Investigativo reported on the Puerto Rican diaspora's voting tendencies, which noted the community usually voted Democratic, but some had begun to lean towards Republicans in general and Trump specifically.

Republican rejection

Republican candidates in areas where Puerto Ricans have a major presence, such as in Florida where over a million Puerto Ricans reside, condemned Hinchcliffe’s remarks.

The most notable of these voices are former Florida governor and incumbent senator Rick Scott.

Scott is campaigning for a second term in the U.S. Senate, and is leading by between 3 and 5 per cent.

A short time after Hinchcliffe's remarks, Scott said the joke “bombed” for a reason, saying it was “not funny and not true”, as reported by The Hill.

He also said Puerto Rico was a “beautiful place”, that its people were “amazing” and “amazing Americans”, and that he would do whatever he could to help them in Florida and on the island.

Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said it did “not reflect the views” of Trump or his campaign, as reported by Sky News.

Some a-hole j-wad

Harris's vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was on a live stream with Democratic representative for New York Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who is herself of Puerto Rican descent, and reacted to a clip of the joke, calling Hinchliffe a “jackwad”.

Ocasio-Cortez said that when “some a-hole” called Puerto Rico floating garbage, “know that’s what they think about you”.

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A post shared by Team AOC (@teamaoc)

45 million followers not forgetting

But Ocasio-Cortez was far from the only person of Puerto Rican heritage responding, with several stars endorsing Harris in the wake of the joke, including Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and rapper Bad Bunny, as reported by The Independent.

Bad Bunny is of particular note, as he has a following of over 45 million on Instagram.

He shared a Harris campaign video where Harris reminded U.S. voters of Trump’s behaviour in the wake of a major hurricanes when he was president.

On the same day pic.twitter.com/wSDAaGs0w6

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 27, 2024

Many had accused Trump of being callous to the island and its residents, making an appearance where he tossed paper towels into a crowd seeking aid.

Harris said, “I will never forget what Donald Trump did and failed to do in the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes.”

Bad Bunny shared the clip several times, each time focusing on Harris’ face, and on her words, until the final frame which was simply a close-up of Harris, while she said, “I will never forget what Donald Trump did.”

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Top image@Acyn/X & @badbunnypr/Instagram