Backlash after comedian at Trump rally calls Puerto Rico ‘island of garbage’

A comedian at a Donald Trump rally has called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”, sparking furious reactions from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats.

The comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, was among the stars who turned out for the event at Madison Square Garden in New York. He also made a series of jokes that leant on racist stereotypes.

A Trump adviser distanced the Republican from the Puerto Rico joke, which was also denounced by Trump’s Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. Harris herself was the target of another Trump warm-up speaker who also sparked controversy.

The furore came as one of the world’s top Latin celebrities, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, endorsed Harris for president.

In his joke, Mr Hinchcliffe, who goes by the name Kill Tony, said: “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.”

The line appeared to meet a mixed reception. Two Republicans in the state of Florida, which has a prominent Puerto Rican population, were among those who called out the joke – joining Democrats.

Writing on X, US congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said she was “disgusted” by the “racist comment”. She said it did not “reflect the GOP values”, referring to the Republican Party, and noted the thousands of Puerto Ricans who served in the military.

In his own post on X, US Senator Rick Scott said: “The joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true.” He added that “Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans”.

Puerto Rico is a US island territory in the Caribbean. Its residents are unable to vote in US presidential elections, but there is a large diaspora across the US who can.

Mr Hinchcliffe also suggested Latinos “loved making babies”, and made a comment about black people and watermelons – drawing on a racist trope.

The night’s other speakers courted controversy with their own remarks. David Rem, a childhood friend of Trump, called Harris “the devil” and “the antichrist”.

And Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani falsely claimed the Democratic candidate was “on the side of the terrorists” in the war in the Gaza conflict.

Although much of the focus was on the comments by his guest speakers, Trump used the occasion to announce a plan for tax credits for those who take care of a parent or a loved one. “It’s about time that they were recognised,” he said.

He also reiterated plans for a mass deportation for illegal migrants, speaking of his wish to “rescue” places that had been “invaded and conquered” by “vicious and bloodthirsty criminals”.

The Harris campaign said the language at the rally was “divisive and demeaning”.

Earlier on Sunday, Harris unveiled policies aimed at helping those in Puerto Rico – garnering support from Jennifer Lopez, who has Puerto Rican parents, as well as Bad Bunny. Numerous other big-name celebrities have already backed her.

Bad Bunny posted multiple videos of Harris talking about the island, her ideas to help residents, and her attacks on how Trump handled Hurricane Maria as president when the deadly storm killed nearly 3,000 people there in 2017.

A source close to Bad Bunny confirmed to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, that this represented an endorsement of Harris, breaking his longstanding tradition of not weighing in on national politics.

In the last seven years, there has been an exodus from Puerto Rico, whose inhabitants have moved to the mainland US including Florida and swing states such as North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Puerto Ricans are now reportedly the second largest Latino subgroup in those states.

Bad Bunny’s comments appeared to be pre-planned, and he did not address the remarks by Mr Hinchcliffe. But fellow Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin did so, telling his fans “this is what they think of us” and urging them to vote for Harris.

There are around 36 million Hispanic voters eligible to vote this year, according to the Pew Research centre. They have generally formed a key plank of the Democratic coalition but Republicans have been eating into that support.

Mr Hinchcliffe was one of a laundry-list of speakers at Trump’s rally, including tech billionaire Elon Musk and former star wrestler Hulk Hogan – who ripped off a T-shirt while speaking. Trump was also joined by his wife Melania, who has made very few campaign appearances so far.

Mike Shapiro, a colourfully dressed Trump supporter visiting New York from New Jersey, said he arrived at 00:50 local time (04:50 GMT) on Sunday to secure his spot at the rally.

“I hear people say he’s fascist, fascist, racist, racist, racist,” Shapiro said. “But I see a lot of diversity. I see everybody, all nationalities. And even here, I met a lot of blacks, a lot of Latino, a lot of Asians. The tide is changing a bit.”

Others who journeyed to the event in New York said they were less worried about rhetoric, and more interested in the policies and impacts to their lives.

“He’s having rallies where people don’t expect him to have rallies because I think more people – people who didn’t like him – are seeing that Donald Trump was a good president,” said Mike Boatman, who said it was his 18th Trump rally.

“They’ve had four years of Trump and four years of Biden, and Kamala is just an extension of Biden, and they can compare and they know when they were better off.”

Madison Square Garden, near the heart of the city, is one of the most famous venues in the world. Capable of seating about 20,000, depending on the event, it is the home of the New York Knicks NBA basketball team and the New York Rangers NHL hockey team.

It is also in Trump’s hometown. But it was viewed by some as a curious choice for Trump’s last full week of campaigning. New York is a solid blue state and will not be decisive in the race for the White House.

But the rally could provide an influx of campaign cash. The Trump campaign sold tickets for an “Ultra Maga Experience” at the venue for nearly $1m (£770,000) a pop. The rally also could help Republican candidates in several competitive US House races in the area.

Republicans had great success in a handful of key swing districts in New York during the 2022 midterm elections – which arguably helped them get control of the lower chamber in Congress.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his weekly US Election Unspun newsletter.

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