Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian who drew condemnation for calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, doubled down on his offensive remark one day later, saying that Puerto Ricans “are smart enough to know when they are being used as political fodder.”
Hinchcliffe shared a clip of his response to the backlash Monday, more than two weeks after it was recorded, as part of the latest episode of Kill Tony, his live comedy podcast.
“Last night, I gave a speech—I don’t know if you’ve heard about this,” Hinchcliffe began, appearing on stage in front of a live audience in Austin, Texas. “And I’m currently under attack. I’m the news.”
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Hinchcliffe’s remark about Puerto Rico—along with other jokes targeting Palestinian, Latino, Jewish, and Black people—sparked a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the political aisle. A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign said that the set didn’t reflect the then-GOP nominee’s views.
In the clip from the day after the rally, Hinchliffe said that he respected Puerto Ricans but that he didn’t regret the joke—or any of the material he delivered at MSG.
“I love Puerto Ricans,” Hinchcliffe said, as his on-stage band played “Hail to the Chief” quietly in the background. “They’re very smart people. They’re smart, they’re street smart, and they’re smart enough to know when they are being used as political fodder. And right now, that is happening.”
“I apologize to absolutely nobody,” Hinchcliffe yelled after a pause, to cheers from the audience, as the band shifted to a louder rock beat. “Not to the Puerto Ricans. Not to the whites. Not to the Blacks. Not to the Palestinians. Not to the Jews. Not to my own mother, who I made fun of during the set.”
The comedian did show one small hint of self-awareness. As he finished up addressing the remarks from the rally, he admitted, “Perhaps that venue at that time wasn’t the best f-----g place to do this set.”
In the wake of Hinchcliffe’s controversial stand-up set, some commentators had predicted that it would cost Trump support from Latino voters, particularly Puerto Ricans. However, the Trump decisive election win over Kamala Harris seems to have featured record Latino support for a Republican presidential candidate.
Hinchcliffe seemed to gloat at this fact, sharing an Axios article on X that showed that Trump won 46 percent of the Latino vote—better than any GOP nominee in modern memory.
