Will Comedian’s Jokes at Trump’s MSG Rally Impact Results in Close Battleground States? Update

Will Comedian’s Jokes at Trump’s MSG Rally Impact Results in Close Battleground States? Update

On Monday, I wrote about former President Donald Trump’s tour de force on Sunday night at New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden. “From start to finish, the electricity inside the venue, the positive messages of the speakers, and yes, the genuine love for the former president by so many Americans, was palpable. No matter how hard the Left tries to spin this as a Nazi rally, the strength of this powerful, patriotic, historic occasion cannot be diminished.”

Apparently, I was wrong. Democrats zeroed in on one of the event’s few flaws, a tasteless, pointless, and frankly, not at all funny joke told by insult comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, the host of the comedy podcast “Kill Tony.”

“There’s a lot going on,” Hinchcliffe told the crowd. “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. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

He then made a second, equally unamusing joke about how Latinos “love making babies.”

Backlash to Hinchcliffe’s jokes came quickly from both sides of the aisle.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is currently running for reelection, immediately condemned the jokes on X.

This joke bombed for a reason. It's not funny and it's not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on… https://t.co/b00eYWkx85

— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) October 27, 2024

David Urban, who has advised the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, posted the following on X:

I understand that his K*ll Tony podcast is wildly popular, but I thought he was unfunny and unfortunately offended many of our friends from Puerto Rico. #TrumpLovesPR 🇵🇷 https://t.co/CV1qi5DvT9

— 🇺🇸 David J. Urban 🇺🇸 (@DavidJUrban) October 28, 2024

The reaction from critics on the Right was appropriate.

Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, responded to the comments in a statement that read, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

The complete meltdown from the Left, however, was grossly disproportionate to the offense. Yes, the Trump team should have paid more attention to what Hinchcliffe planned to say, but there’s no guarantee that he even had it all written down. He’s not Kamala Harris. He’s a comedian, and comedians improvise.

And it was not Trump who uttered the remarks.

Nevertheless, with the election just one week away, Democrats and the media were searching for anything they could seize upon to discredit Trump or to diminish the spectacular event itself over the course of a six-hour period. Hinchcliffe’s bad jokes fit the bill and the media was off to the races. (I posted about the mass hysteria that ensued here.)

The concern for the campaign was that the jokes might damage Trump politically. Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House official who currently spends her days criticizing the former president as a co-host of “The View,” took to social media to ask, “Who wants to tell these guys there are ~ HALF A MILLION Puerto Ricans living in Battleground PA, whose votes are up for grabs?”

Who wants to tell these guys there are ~ HALF A MILLION Puerto Ricans living in Battleground PA, whose votes are up for grabs? https://t.co/fkWwwXcRlV

— Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) October 27, 2024

So, how concerned should the Trump campaign be? Will the legacy media-created frenzy have an impact on the margins in close battleground states?

The Fox News panel on “Special Report” addressed this question on Monday night. Fox contributor Hugh Hewitt, a conservative, said, “It was not funny. It shouldn’t have been said. I’m glad Trump distanced himself.” Hewitt then said he “would go on offense” and point people to Harris’s disastrous Monday interview on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “Move off the joke and back to the candidate as soon as possible.”

Hewitt said, “She could not speak in other than cliches and he could not ask a question about policy. So the vacuity of the interview overwhelms you.” (She also breaks out her “urban accent” during the course of the interview.)

Kamala Harris breaks out her urban accent again in an attempt to pander.

Listen to how she says, “He’s not going to be thinking about you.”

Imagine if a Republican changed accents like this to pander.

It’s so offensive. pic.twitter.com/cAExuajm93

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) October 28, 2024

The Hill’s Julia Manchester, a liberal, noted that Puerto Ricans tend to be more supportive of Democratic candidates anyway. She added that Republicans she had spoken to earlier in the day were “frustrated” that the situation “has created a bit of a distraction.”

Separately, after host Bret Baier featured inflammatory headlines about the jokes from The New York Times and The Washington Post, Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume said, “This isn’t really coverage, is it Bret? It’s editorial commentary and it’s pointed in one direction and that’s away from Donald Trump.” He sees the headlines as the reason why the media’s approval levels are currently so low.

“The media coverage seems extreme and it seems to be a token of weakness,” Hume added.

The Washington Examiner’s Byron York, who attended the rally, wrote in his Monday column that he’d met two young Latino men there. Vasquez had Puerto Rican roots and Paulino had roots in the Dominican Republic. Following the brouhaha over Hinchcliffe’s jokes, he texted the pair to get their reactions. Vasquez, 30, replied that he “didn’t like what Hinchcliffe said” but that “comedians often use exaggeration and sarcasm, and while this particular remark may have been harsh, it was intended as a joke rather than a factual statement. … We should be careful not to overreact to every comment, especially those intended to be a joke.”

Paulino told York he is “a comedy fan” and he knows Hinchcliffe’s style. “He’s known to be edgy — if you ever check out his show Kill Tony, you’ll see.” Paulino said that when Hinchcliffe made the joke, he “looked over at Vazquez and made a shocked face” and they “both laughed.”

Paulino continued, “Never thought about it again once he moved on to other jokes. I honestly had no idea it would make headline news. It wasn’t until later I went on X and saw that AOC and Tim Walz were freaking out over it. … I have many Puerto Rican friends that will be voting for Trump. I think it’s safe to assume Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke isn’t going to change that. No one at all is even talking about it in person. I’m still on the train with a lot of supporters. But for some reason, the internet can’t get over it.”

On Tuesday, Jon Stewart, Host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” came to Hinchcliffe’s defense. According to The Daily Mail, Stewart said, “Now obviously in retrospect, having a roast comedian come to a political rally a week before election day and roasting a key voting demographic, probably not the best decision by the campaign politically. But to be fair, the guy’s really just doing what he does. … There’s something wrong with me. I find that guy very funny. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Bringing him to a rally and not letting him do roast jokes? That’d be like bringing Beyoncé to a rally and not have-,” Stewart said, pausing for effect. He was joking about Beyoncé’s appearance at Kamala Harris’s rally in Houston, Texas – where she didn’t sing.

Update added Oct. 29, 7:08 p.m.

Puerto Rico Shadow Senator Zoraida Buxó Endorses Trump: “Don’t Be Distracted By Emotional Manipulation And Propaganda, We Need Trump.”

🚨BREAKING: Puerto Rico Senator Zoraida Buxó just endorsed President Trump!

This is HUGE! pic.twitter.com/3ZQue9e1M4

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 29, 2024

Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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