By james art During a campaign stop in Racine Monday night, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance responded to backlash over comments made during a Trump rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
During Sunday’s rally, some speakers made racist jokes and comments. Among the controversial comments were a series of disparaging jokes by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe aimed at Hispanics and blacks, including a statement calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash.”
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out against those comments while speaking with reporters on Monday. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign and some Republicans tried to distance themselves from the remarks at the event.
However, during a rally at Memorial Hall in Racine on Monday night, Vance tried to downplay the event and said he believed it would have no impact on the outcome of the election.
“A comedian made a joke and I don’t think it’s news worth making,” Vance said.
Vance also claimed that Hinchcliffe was “not associated” with the Trump campaign.
“I’m a hell of a lot more offended that my fellow Americans can’t afford to buy groceries or pay their credit card debt,” Vance said. “That’s more offensive than a comedian said in Madison Square Garden.”
Vance spoke for about 45 minutes to more than 500 supporters on Monday. He touched on issues that Trump also touched on on the campaign trail, including the economy, the southern border and inflation.
“I think you will all join me in saying, ‘Let’s go back to the common sense economic policies of Donald J. Trump. Let’s get back to prosperity in the state of Wisconsin and everywhere in the United States,” Vance told the crowd.
This is the second time in less than a week that Memorial Hall has been used for a campaign stop. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Waltz spoke there last week.
Before his stop in Racine, Vance was in Wausau campaigning at the Wausau Downtown Airport. Trudy Hittner of Kronenwetter was one of the voters there. She said her main issue in this election is closing the southern border, and she’s attending because she wants to help the Trump campaign.
“I’m just here to get fired up with the crowd and get some momentum going and get the word out if I can after that,” Hyttner said.
Waltz was also in Wisconsin on Monday, speaking to union members in Manitowoc. He held a political event in Waukesha later in the day.
Both campaigns swept swing states, including Wisconsin during the final stretch of the campaign. Along with events with the vice presidential candidates on Monday, Harris is scheduled to hold a rally in Madison on Wednesday, and former President Bill Clinton will campaign for her in the state on Thursday. Trump has two rallies planned this week, speaking to voters near Green Bay on Wednesday and in Milwaukee on Friday.
Hallie Jennerman, organization director for Waukesha Sheet Metal Workers Local 18, attended the Walz event in Manitowoc. He said he worries about what the future of the country will look like if Trump wins the election.
“I think he (Trump) is going to get rid of the Department of Education. I think all of our public schools will eventually be closed,” Jennerman said. “I think he’s going to tax the middle class more than they already have and the rich won’t pay taxes and our economy will be turned upside down and a lot of people will suffer.”
The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed Harris narrowly leading Trump, 48 percent to 47 percent, among likely voters in the race. The same survey found the economy to be the top issue for registered voters.
Editor’s note: WPR’s Rob Mentzer and Joe Schultz contributed to this report.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Board of Educational Communications.