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Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe workshopped some of the jokes he used in his performance to open up the Madison Square Garden Trump rally at a New York City comedy club the night before, according to a report. Hinchcliffe, an Austin-based comedian and podcaster, performed a set at The Stand NYC, a comedy club near Union Square on Saturday night, and even workshopped his now-infamous joke calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” NBC News reported. One of the people in attendance for Hinchcliffe’s Saturday night bomb happened to be an NBC News producer, along with three other people who also confirmed the set. Hinchcliffe’s joke elicited murmurs from the crowd at Madison Square Garden, and the line similarly bombed the night before, according to the attendees. Hinchcliffe has now faced fierce backlash from other comedians, the Puerto Rican community, and both Republicans and Democrats for the insult. The Trump campaign later insisted the joke “does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” The Stand has not returned a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
