Trump-supporting comedian opens rally calling Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage'

A comedian at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden signature closing rally joked about Latinos having too many babies, called Puerto Rico a floating garbage island and referred to “carving watermelons” with a Black friend.

“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,” Tony Hinchliffe, who goes by the stage name Kill Tony, said on Sunday.

He paused before delivering his punch line. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

The opening-act comments for Trump’s speech by Hinchcliffe drew laughs and some groans from the crowd.

Kill Tony, Hinchcliffe’s comedy show with nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers, often features new and established comedians making raunchy jokes and has drawn criticism by many listeners for being racist and sexist.

Hinchcliffe's opening act comes as the 2024 presidential candidates are trying to drive home a national message. For Trump, that's a headliner event at Madison Square Garden, a world-renown venue for entertainers. But Hinchliffe's jokes are also consistent with the antics and tropes that has drawn large crowds for Trump.

In his remarks, Hinchliffe also went after Latinos to mixed responses from the crowd. He said he welcomed migrants to the United States with "open arms," and then spread his arms into a "get out of here" gesture.

“It’s wild," he continued. "And these Latinos, they love making babies, too, just know that. They do, they do."

During his act, Hinchcliffe also pointed to a Black man in the audience and said, “All right, heck yeah. A black guy with a thing on his on his head. What the hell is that, a lampshade?” Hinchcliffe said. “Look at this guy. Oh, my goodness."

After a pause, Hinchliffe added, “I'm just kidding. That's one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun. We carved watermelons together. It was awesome.”

Late Sunday, senior Trump advisor Danielle Alvarez issued a statement saying, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” in apparent reference to Hinchcliffe's comment about Puerto Rico.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, doing live coverage of the rally, criticized Hinchcliffe for his comments. Both said there were hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who live in Pennsylvania, and urged them to watch the remarks so they could vote for Harris instead.

After Hinchliffe criticized Puerto Rico, former Trump White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin posted on X, formerly Twitter, "Who wants to tell these guys there are ~ HALF A MILLION Puerto Ricans living in Battleground PA, whose votes are up for grabs?”

Attorney Angel Cintrón, chairman of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, posted on X that Hinchcliffe's remarks were "unfortunate, ignorant, and entirely reprehensible" and a "poor attempt at comedy."

"There is no room for absurd and racist remarks like this," Cintrón said. "They do not represent the conservative values of republicanism anywhere in our Nation, which includes 3 million American citizens from Puerto Rico on our Island and nearly 6 million living across all states of the Union."

"Whether we are Republicans or Democrats, we are American citizens and proud Puerto Ricans, with deep roots and invaluable contributions to American democracy for over one hundred years," he said.

In a post on X, Hinchcliffe said later on Sunday that he loved Puerto Rico and had vacationed there. He also marveled that his comments had already drawn a rebuke from Walz. "These people have no sense of humor," he wrote.

(This story has been updated with more information and new headline.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Comedian calls Puerto Rico 'floating island of garbage' at Trump rally