By james art On Sunday, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, speaking to several speakers in front of former President Donald Trump and Vance, joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating pile of garbage.” The taunt was met with backlash from Democrats and some Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), whose state hosts a significant Puerto Rican population.
When asked about the joke at a campaign event Monday, Vance said he hadn’t heard the joke but that it was certainly hyped.
“I didn’t, I heard about the joke, but I didn’t actually see the joke you mentioned, but I think it’s telling that Kamala Harris’ closing message is basically that all Donald Trump voters are Nazis, and they should really you get bored with a comedian telling a joke,” he said. “That is not the message of a winning campaign, and most importantly, it is not the message of a person who is fit to be president of the United States of America.”
“And my own take on that is … again, I haven’t seen the joke,” Vance continued. “Maybe, maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke because you said maybe it’s not. I haven’t seen it. I won’t comment on the specifics of the joke, but I think we need to stop getting so offended over every little thing in the United States of America. I’m so over it.”
He then countered the situation with a joke some described as offensive to Mexicans by Mexican-American comedian George Lopez at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris. The comedian joked that the U.S.-Mexico border wall would have to be built quickly because otherwise the Mexicans would steal the construction material. Vance said he was shown the joke and asked to blow it to show the alleged hypocrisy of the Harris campaign, which he declined.
“And my response was, ‘Can we all just take a chill pill and have a joke every once in a while?’ That’s ridiculous,” he said to cheers.
“Our country was built by frontiersmen who conquered the wilderness,” Vance continued. “We will not restore the greatness of American civilization if we take offense at every little thing. Let’s have a sense of humor and let’s have some fun. And let’s win in eight days, God bless you.
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Hinchcliffe defended his joke as typical of his comedy routine, adding that he likes Puerto Rico and vacations there. Democrats kept up the joke by portraying Trump’s MSG rally as hateful, with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling it a “mini January 6th rally.”
The Trump campaign and Republicans have largely distanced themselves from the joke.