Trump’s Shock Comic Was Set to Call Harris a ‘C*nt’
Tony Hinchcliffe’s set at Madison Square Garden wasn’t great for the campaign. It could have been much worse.
DONALD TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN WAS LEFT scrambling Sunday night after roast-comic Tony Hinchcliffe made insulting jokes about Hispanic and black people on stage at the ex-president’s Madison Square Garden rally.
The lines sparked immediate backlash and even condemnation from fellow Republicans. But four top campaign sources said it could have been even worse.
“He had a joke calling [Vice President Kamala] Harris a ‘cunt,’” a campaign insider involved in the discussions about the event told The Bulwark. “Let’s say it was a red flag.”
Hinchcliffe’s remarks—and the ensuing backlash—has sparked questions about how such an offensive speech was allowed at such a high-profile rally; whether it was deliberate; and why a presidential campaign would elevate a roast-master comic edgelord in the closing days of a tight race for the White House.
Campaign staffers had asked all speakers to submit drafts of their speeches ahead of time—before they were loaded into the teleprompter—according to the aforementioned sources. Once the objectionable “cunt” joke was spotted, the sources said, a staffer asked Hinchcliffe to strike it. He complied.
Those sources insisted that they did not spot the other objectionable lines in Hinchcliffe’s speech prior to him delivering it because they were ad-libbed. Hinchcliffe couldn’t be reached for comment.
The shock comic took the stage early during the MSG rally. In the course of delivering his eleven-minute-and-forty-second set, he called Puerto Rico an island of trash and joked about a black person carving watermelons for Halloween.
About three hours after the performance, as condemnation was pouring in from left, right, and center, the Trump campaign was forced to take the rare step of distancing itself from one of their speakers—though it only separated itself from the “trash” line and not the watermelon one.
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, a Trump senior adviser said.
By then, the political damage had been done. In Pennsylvania, home to a sizable number of Puerto Rican voters, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro denounced the comments. At roughly the same moment, Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny announced his endorsement of Harris.
Behind the scenes, the Trump campaign debated how to respond. Some aides wanted a full-throated denunciation of Hinchcliffe while others, in accordance with MAGA’s no-apologies crowd on Twitter, advocated for no response at all.
“It’s a joke. People need to grow up,” one Trump adviser in the no-apology camp told The Bulwark. “This is what we’re campaigning against: PC culture run amok.”
Another adviser, speaking to The Bulwark, took the opposite position: “This isn’t the hill we need to die on, Puerto Rico as a trash island—for fuck’s sake!”
The divide within the campaign exemplifies the premium it has placed on spectacle as a political tool. It is a culture in which rhetoric, especially from the candidate, often exceeds the standards of common political discourse, in an attempt to appeal to voters tired of “cancel culture” and tone-policing. That refusal to play it safe or normal is a testament to the supreme confidence of Trump and his team. But some aides fear it may veer into overconfidence that Trump will win, despite polling showing the race is essentially a tie.
Campaign advisers are united in their opinion that the Hinchcliffe controversy will blow over. Some were heartened by the fact that for once it wasn’t Trump who was at the center of the maelstrom. Others noted that they have overcome far worse.
“Heading into the rally, we were called Nazis. Do voters really care about a comic telling a joke that offended people who weren’t going to vote for us? No,” a third campaign adviser said.
A fourth source said, “Giving a speech onstage is just like being on TV: once your ass is in the seat, anything can happen.”
But Democrats were gleeful for the cudgel they were handed. Carlos Odio, a Democrat and founder of the Latino research firm Equis Research, said he’s not sure about the severity of the downstream political consequences of the controversy, save that it would be bad for Trump.
“We’ve gotten so used to the idea that nothing Trump or his allies say ever seems to move the needle,” he told The Bulwark. “Maybe it is the same now. Or maybe the exception turns out to be insulting a critical community in your tipping-point state while voting is already underway, using a joke so incendiary it breaks through almost instantly.”
Harris’s campaign has continuously highlighted the comment and, on Sunday afternoon, posted a reaction video featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—herself a boricua—and Harris running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, condemning Hinchcliffe.
“These people have no sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe responded. “Wild that a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone . . . watch the whole set. I’m a comedian Tim . . . might be time to change your tampon.”
AS THE CAMPAIGN ENTERS ITS FINAL week, the attacks against Harris have taken on a harsher tone that has left the Trump campaign open to accusations of sexism. The America super PAC financed by billionaire Elon Musk recently released a web ad that repeatedly calls Harris “the C Word.” Only later does it say she’s a “communist.” And during a podcast appearance just hours before the MSG rally, vice presidential candidate JD Vance repeatedly mocked Harris’s laugh, calling it “very fraudulent” and “so off putting.”
Unlike Musk or Vance, Hinchcliffe has no formal campaign role. He entered Trump’s orbit as part of the campaign’s effort to book the candidate on popular podcasts that appeal to young men. But the preliminary talks to have Trump appear on Hinchcliffe’s hit “Kill Tony” show never panned out, and as time ran short in the campaign, advisers offered Hinchcliffe a consolation: a speaking role at the rally in order to provide the audience some flashy comic relief.
But what works on “Kill Tony” and comedy roasts is not necessarily suitable for the presidential campaign. That seemed apparent to Hinchcliffe at the start of his set, when he pointed out he doesn’t usually perform in venues like the Garden. Then, four minutes later, he compared Puerto Rico to a trash island . . . in New York, home to the second-largest boricua population on the mainland.
There were cheers, nervous laughs, and jeers.
“Okay, all right, okay,” he chuckled nervously. “We're getting there. Again, normally, I don't follow the National Anthem, everybody. Ah, this isn't exactly a perfect comedy setup. There's some people here—all right. Very good. I like it.”
Rimshot.
Democrats, liberals, and Puerto Rican advocates on both sides of the political aisle quickly condemned the remarks. In Florida, which has the nation’s largest Puerto Rican population outside of the island, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fl.) hounded a Trump campaign adviser by text demanding an apology.
“Disgusted by @TonyHinchcliffe’s racist comment calling Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage.' This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values,” Salazar, a Republican of Cuban descent who represents a large Hispanic population in Miami, posted about 10 minutes after Hinchcliffe’s comment. “Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”
About 40 minutes later, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fl.), a top Trump ally who is locked in a tight battle for reelection against former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, let loose with his own response.
“This joke bombed for a reason,” Scott posted. “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 the island.”
While the jokes about Puerto Rico and watermelon-carving made at least some Trump staffers wince, the sources who spoke to The Bulwark all agreed that the campaign did not object to Hinchcliffe’s other jokes about rock-throwing Palestinians, Jewish people who want to keep their money, false reports that Haitians are eating cats and dogs in Ohio, or the assassination attempts Trump survived.
While the sources insist that Hinchcliffe ad-libbed his most offensive material, the sources were divided over whether the campaign knew about his joke accusing Hispanics of having unprotected sex, a double entendre about how they “come inside” the country.
Delivered to an audience of about 20,000, that line got some laughs, but not a lot.
“Republicans are the party with the good sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe said after delivering the shocker. “Free speech is under attack, people. I host a show, and each week, I get updates on what words we're allowed to use and not use anymore. It's happening right now.”
Indeed it was.
Evidently Elon Musk's America PAC has an ad out calling Kamala Harris the C-word.
Here are some other C words that might be more appropriate: caring, compassionate, competent, classy, committed (to democracy, rule of law).
Arrogance is the MAGA Achilles heel. The Greeks called it hubris. I call it assholery. They're so sure of their mastery of the universe that they think they can say or do anything. We're aware that they're mistaken.