Republicans criticize Tony Hinchcliffe's ill-timed joke about Puerto Rico

Top Republican officials criticized in recent hours the performance of controversial comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. In front of more than 20,000 people, the comedian took the stage with his dark sense of humor and made jokes about Puerto Rico and Hispanics that earned him criticism from both sides, on the same day that Harris held an event with members of this community and received the support of Bad Bunny, one of the most-recognized Hispanic artists. 

Hinchcliffe said: "There’s a lot going on. There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico."

Florida Senator Rick Scott was one of the Republicans who came out against Hinchcliffe: "This joke bombed for a reason. It's not funny and it's not true." Scott said Puerto Ricans are "amazing people and amazing Americans" and that the island is "a beautiful place."

Even more forceful was Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who said she was "disgusted by Hinchcliffe's racist comment." "This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values," said the Floridian congresswoman, who also called for respect for the more than 48,000 Puerto Rican soldiers who fought in Vietnam. "Educate yourself!"

"I’m proud to be Puerto Rican," said Republican Congressman Anthony D'Esposito. "My mom was born and raised in Puerto Rico. It’s a beautiful island with a rich culture and an integral part of the USA."

Peter Navarro, Trump's advisor, even called the comedian "the biggest, stupidest a**hole that ever came down the comedy pike." "No one worked harder for Puerto Rico after the hurricanes hit than Donald Trump," he also maintained.

The Republican presidential hopeful's reelection team also distanced itself from Hinchcliffe's remarks. "This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign," senior advisor Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

Puerto Rico's waste crisis

The Democratic propaganda apparatus wanted to take advantage of the moment to link Trump to the comedian's words. But, as Michael Shellenberger rightly said, in the coverage of Hinchcliffe's speech, the progressive media forgot to put his words in context and explain the underlying issues.

The well-known independent journalist affirmed that the same media that were scandalized by Hinchcliffe's words have reported on the permanent waste crisis on the island, whose average per capita waste generation far exceeds that of the United States. In fact, there are recurring reports that this problem has had the population "on the edge of the precipice" for years. Last week, some media once again highlighted the situation:

In another post, Shellenberger argued, "Donald Trump held a racist, fascist, and anti-Semitic rally, say the media. But he didn't. None of their claims hold up. Spreading such disinformation is not only unethical and offensive, it's also dangerous, since it makes it harder to raise the alarm about genuine threats."

Hinchcliffe posted a tweet in which he criticized the Democrats' lack of a sense of humor and clarified that he has nothing against Puerto Rico:

It should be noted that several Puerto Ricans who attended the rally were not offended by Hinchcliffe's remarks:

On the other hand, Hinchcliffe also said the following about immigration: "I welcome migrants to the United States with open arms, and by open arms, I mean this," while gesturing "no" with his arms as he added "come back."

Kamala's campaign was quick to criticize him for mocking Hispanics, without pointing out that Hinchcliffe was echoing in his peculiar style the census data on the Latino birth rate, the fastest growing in the U.S. and that has made them the second largest racial group in the country: "It’s wild and these Latinos love making babies too, just know that — they don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country. Republicans are the party with a good sense of humor."