New York – Former President Donald Trump closed his Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday with an ominous 80-minute speech denouncing his political rivals, assailing immigrants and promising to invoke an 18th century law to pave the way for mass deportations.
But it was the opening acts of the New York City rally – a hodgepodge of donors, entertainers and MAGA politicians – who unleashed an eleventh-hour campaign furor that prompted angry rebukes from Democrats and some Republicans who worried the vengeful show would hurt their standing with moderate voters.
Local Trump loyalists, who made up many of the speakers’ list ahead of the former president, took the opportunity to spew familiar grievances at some of Trump’s favorite targets. One failed Republican House candidate labeled Harris “the antichrist.”
The rally began with Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian and podcast host, assailing Puerto Rico – in the city that’s home to the largest Puerto Rican population on the US mainland. About 500,000 Puerto Ricans also live in battleground Pennsylvania, where Harris campaigned on Sunday.
“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,” he said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
After the rally, Trump’s campaign sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, who like the other speakers was an invited guest, and his comments about Puerto Rico.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement to CNN.
But Harris’ campaign had already seized on the comments about Puerto Rico, quickly clipping the video and posting it on social media channels. The vice president on Sunday visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in North Philadelphia, where she discussed her vision for the island along with plans to lower costs and create opportunity in Puerto Rican communities on the mainland.
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, whose album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was the most-streamed album globally in 2023, posted a video of Harris spelling out her plan for Puerto Rico to his 45 million Instagram followers shortly after Hinchcliffe left the stage.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, whose reelection campaign depends on sizable support from the state’s Puerto Rican community, joined the backlash, writing of the “joke” on X, “It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!”
