US comedian’s ‘Puerto Rico floating garbage’ jab at Trump poll rally stirs row

Despite being hailed as a successful homecoming, former President Donald Trump’s election rally at Madison Square Gardens was tainted by controversy after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Both Republicans and Democrats immediately criticized the joke, and Trump’s team soon distanced itself from the remarks.

Melania Trump, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan were among the many speakers at Trump’s gathering. In one of Trump’s largest election rallies, however, with only a week until the November 5 votes, Hinchcliffe’s comments made headlines. The ‘Kill Tony’ podcast host and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe kicked off the protest with a set full of insults directed at African Americans, Latinos, and other groups.

The crowd responded to Hinchcliffe’s quip that Latinos “love making babies” with skepticism. “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,” the comic reiterated. It’s called Puerto Rico, I believe. Congresswoman Mar­a Elvira Salazar wrote that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s comment, which caused a stir online and sparked harsh criticism.

“I’m tempted to call Hinchcliffe racist crap since I’m Puerto Rican, but that would be insulting to garbage. “Latinos should never forget the racism that Donald Trump appears all too willing to promote when they cast their ballots at the polling station,” Congressman Ritchie Torres while sharing the video of his remark. Calling Puerto Rico a floating garbage dump is your way of introducing yourself to Trump. According to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, “he caused the deaths of over 4,000 Puerto Ricans.”

In response to the remark, Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, and Jennifer Lopez shared a fragment of a video in which Kamala Harris chastised Donald Trump for blocking disaster aid to the island. Alongside a clip of Hinchcliffe’s comments, Puerto Rican musician Ricky Martin, who has 18.6 million Instagram followers, promptly posted a video of Harris’s appeal to Puerto Rican voters.

In Spanish, Martin wrote, “This is what they think of us,” and he urged people to support Kamala Harris, “I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader.” “Who is this jackwad?” said Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz in response to the footage of Hinchcliffe’s comments during a stream with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hinchcliffe responded to Waltz’s criticism by claiming that his remark was taken out of “context” to make it seem racist. “These individuals lack a sense of humor. It’s absurd that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his “busy schedule” to reframe a joke so that it appears racist. I enjoy taking vacations in Puerto Rico. I teased everyone. Watch the entire set. I am a comedian. Tim, perhaps it’s time to modify your