Tony Hinchcliffe: The fury over the comedian who during a Trump event called Puerto Rico “Garbage Island” and mocked Latinos

“There is a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

Those were the comedian’s words Tony Hinchcliffe when he spoke from the stage as an opening act at a rally Donald Trump in New York.

The event, held at the iconic Madison Square Garden, maintained the well-known script of “reclaiming the American dream” and was attended by high-profile sponsors, including the richest person in the world, Elon Musk.

Speeches given by Trump supporters at the event have drawn heavy criticism: The former president’s childhood friend David Rem called Kamala Harris “the devil” and “the antichrist.”

But those of Hinchcliffe who also attacked the entire Latino community saying that “they love making babies,” has caused a stir not only among Democrats, but also among the Republican ranks themselves.

The responses, from both the Republican and Democratic parties, jumped out immediately.

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz questioned the comedian during a broadcast on the social network Twitch and said that these offensive comments are a reflection of “what they think of you.”

“That’s what they think of anyone who makes less money than them,” added Ocasio-Cortez, who is often referred to by her initials AOC and who is of Puerto Rican descent.

“Who is that moron?” Walz said in a reaction video posted on X by the Kamala Harris campaign.

In turn, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, responded very critically to the comedian’s comments and He urged Puerto Rican Americans to “show the strength of our people at the polls and every day.”

Pierluisi, a Democrat who has endorsed Kamala Harris, reposted Hinchcliffe’s comments on to Puerto Rico in this way.”

“These comments highlight the prejudice and racism that is still alive in our nation, and how important it is to elect leaders who reject and combat this intolerance. America is better than this and deserves better.”

His predecessor, Ricardo Rosselló, He also condemned the comments as “atrocious” and “insulting.”

“Racist and in bad taste”

Speaking to NewsNation, the former governor noted that New York is home to more than one million Puerto Ricans. Rosselló added that Hinchcliffe’s comments “will cost President Trump if he doesn’t address this.”

Voices within the Republicans also came out to criticize the comments. Among them, Florida Senator Rick Scott, who posted on social media: “This joke fell flat for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true.”

“Puerto Ricans are incredible people and incredible Americans!” he added.

Other Republican members of Congress have called the comedian’s comment “racist” and “in poor taste.”

Florida Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar wrote on X that she was “disgusted” by his “racist comment.” Your state has one of the largest populations of Puerto Ricans in the US.

Your companion Florida Republican Carlos A. Giménez described Hinchcliffe’s speech as “completely classless and in bad taste”while New York Congressman Anthony D’Esposito said he was “proud to be Puerto Rican.”

“The only thing that’s ‘garbage’ was a bad comedy set,” he wrote in X.

Puerto Rican artists respond

Hinchcliffe’s words also caused outrage among some of the Puerto Rican artists with the most international projection.

The singer Ricky Martin, who before this controversy had asked to vote for Kamala Harris, published a video on his networks with the intervention of the comedian and the legend “this is what they think of us”.

Meanwhile, rapper René Pérez, known artistically as Residente, wrote: “To my Puerto Rican brothers, please do not endorse these people.”

And the reggaeton singer Bad Bunny retweeted a message from the candidate for governor of Puerto Rico for the independence Alliance of the Country, Juan Dalmau Ramírez, in which, in reference to Hinchcliffe’s words, he stated: “We deserve a Puerto Rico that is for us. So that those who have had to leave can return, vote with conscience.”

Anti-immigrant rhetoric

Although the Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe’s comments, the Republican candidate’s speech on Sunday was also filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Referring to a plan to end illegal immigration to the US and deport immigrants, Trump said there were parts of the country that had been “conquered” by them and spoke of an “immigration invasion.”

And he also talked about what he plans to do about it.

“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered,” Trump said.

“Once he takes office, the immigration invasion of our country will end and the restoration of our country will begin.”

He also referred to the “internal enemy”a controversial characterization he has previously used to describe his political opponents.

The importance of the Latino vote

Puerto Rico is a US island territory in the Caribbean. While its residents cannot vote in US presidential elections, there is a large diaspora across the country that can.

Both Republicans and Democrats have renewed their efforts to appeal to Latino voters in recent days.

Hay about 36 million Hispanic voters eligible to vote this year, according to the Pew Research Center. Overall, they have been a key pillar of the Democratic Party, with 59% of Latinos voting for Joe Biden in 2020.

But Republicans have been gaining ground among those voters, especially among members of the Cuban-American community, most of whom identified as Republicans in 2020.

Hispanic voters are a large minority in several key states ahead of the presidential elections. In Pennsylvania, there are around 615,000 people, according to the Pew center. In Arizona, where Donald Trump has a slight lead in the polls, it is 855,000.

That’s why comments made at Trump’s rally on Sunday have taken on so much importance.