MAGA comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose offensive jokes at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally drew outrage from both sides of the political spectrum, reportedly practiced his controversial material at a local comedy club the night before.
Hinchcliffe first tried his line calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” at the Manhattan comedy club The Stand on Saturday night, where it went over poorly, according to NBC News which happened to have a news producer in the audience.
The joke did not get any laughs — only a handful of “awkward chuckles,” the news station reported.
But Hinchcliffe, a Texas-based comedian who hosts the Kill Tony podcast, delivered the same joke at the Republican nominee’s at-capacity rally the next night after claiming his routine would get a better reception from Trump supporters during his surprise Stand set.
“There’s a lot going on. There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said from the stage at The Garden Sunday night.
The insult to the US territory drew near-immediate backlash from the likes of Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, who was gaming during a live Twitch stream with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“You have some a—hole calling Puerto Rico ‘floating garbage,’ know that that’s what they think about you. It’s what they think about anyone who makes less money than them,” he said, calling for Puerto Ricans to take note of that attack on them.
The objections only grew from there with both Democrats and Republicans blasting the distasteful remarks.
“This is not a joke. It’s completely classless & in poor taste,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said.
“Puerto Rico is the crown jewel of the Caribbean & home to many of the most patriotic Americans I know,” he said on X. “@TonyHinchcliffe clearly isn’t funny & definitely doesn’t reflect my values or those of the Republican Party.”
“Comedian @TonyHinchcliffe’s remarks are despicable, misguided, and revolting,” tweeted Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, the Republican resident commissioner of Puerto Rico. “What he said is not funny; just as his comments were rejected by the audience, they should be rejected by all! There can be no room for such vile and racist expressions. They do not represent the values of the GOP.”
The Trump campaign has since tried to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, who claimed his joke was taken out of context to make it seem racist by people with “no sense of humor.”
“These jokes do not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.
The crude stand-up routine led multiple Puerto Rican celebrities to publically vouch for Harris on social media.
Hours before Hinchcliffe’s stand-up set, Harris unveiled several policy proposals to “build a brighter future for Puerto Rico.”
Reggaeton musician and megastar Bad Bunny reposted a Harris video on the proposals and her criticism of Trump’s alleged mishandling of Hurricane Maria recovery efforts for the island territory to his 45 million Instagram followers.
While Puerto Rican residents cannot vote in presidential elections, Puerto Ricans living on mainland America — including in swing states like Pennsylvania — are a coveted electorate.