By james art
After a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden over the weekend that included racist and derogatory comments about Latinos, Puerto Ricans and others, a representative for the Manhattan arena distanced itself from the widespread remarks but did not condemn the comments.
“As a business, we are neutral on political issues,” the representative said in a statement provided to Billboard. “We rent from both sides. We do not censor artists, performers or speakers.
The statement followed an appearance at the rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose 12-minute address included a series of disparaging remarks about Palestinians, Jews, Latin Americans, major music stars and more.
“These Latinas love to make babies, just know that. They do it. There is no withdrawal. They don’t. They’re going inside, just like they did in our country,” said Hinchcliffe, host of the popular live comedy podcast Kill Tony. He followed that statement by saying, “There is literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.
The latter statement prompted a swift and widespread reaction, as the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris quickly released a video promising to do everything possible for the citizens of the island. Harris’ video has been boosted by countless Puerto Rican artists, including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Luis Fonsi.
On Monday (October 28), Marc Anthony also responded, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that “[Trump] began his campaign by calling Latinos criminals and rapists. He told us what he was going to do. He would separate the children from their families and threatened to use the ARMY to do it. This election goes way beyond political parties… And that’s why I’m supporting Kamala Harris for president.”
For Sunday’s (October 27) rally, the Trump campaign rented Madison Square Garden, which has been used for a number of political events throughout its long history, including the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. During the rally, the Democratic National Committee projected messages on the side of the venue, including one that read “Trump praised Hitler.” (For reference, in 1939 Madison Square Garden hosted a rally for the American Nazi Party that was billed as “pro-American” and attended by an estimated 20,000 people. The American Nazi Party was later outlawed after war was declared by Adolf Hitler against the US after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor in late 1941)
In addition to his other remarks, Hinchcliffe’s speech included several disparaging remarks about major music stars. “I don’t know about you, but I think Travis Kelce could be the next OJ Simpson,” he said in reference to Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, who Trump attacked on X (formerly Twitter) after the superstar endorsed Harris for president in September .
The comedian also mentioned Harris supporters Leonardo DiCaprio, Eminem and Beyoncé, saying that “every day the Democratic Party looks more like a P. Diddy party.”
During his speech, Trump himself called Madison Square Garden “amazing” and thanked MSG Entertainment CEO James Dolan, a registered Democrat who has been friends with Trump for more than three decades. “I want to thank Jim Dolan,” Trump said. “He was amazing. He was just amazing. The work they have done. The work they have done. Thank you.”