(The Hill) — A speaker at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday spent a portion of his time attacking Puerto Rico, drawing backlash from Democrats and the Harris campaign.
Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by Kill Tony, delivered a set to the crowd ahead of the former president’s speech.
“There’s a lot going on. Like, 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,” Hinchcliffe said, eliciting mixed reactions from the crowd.
The remarks, particularly about Puerto Rico, were swiftly condemned by Democrats.
“As a Puerto Rican, I am tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist garbage but doing so would be an insult to garbage,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) posted on the social platform X. “When casting their ballots at the voting booth, Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump seems all too willing to platform.”
Harris campaign aides noted Hinchcliffe’s remarks came as Vice President Harris was in Philadelphia speaking at a Puerto Rican restaurant, where she detailed her plans to assist the island and bolster its electrical grid.
Other Democrats pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania, which is shaping up to be one of the most critical battlegrounds on Election Day.
“Who wants to tell these guys there are ~ HALF A MILLION Puerto Ricans living in Battleground PA, whose votes are up for grabs?” Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House official who is an outspoken critic of the former president, posted on the social platform X.
