Six of the most offensive moments from Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally
Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally included numerous controversial speakers including Tony Hinchcliffe and Sid Rosenberg. (Peter W. Stevenson/Getty)
Speakers at Donald Trump’s latest campaign rally made deeply offensive remarks, including ‘comedian’ Tony Hinchcliffe who has been criticised for his crude comments about Latino families.
Trump’s rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday (27 October) became a cacophony of Republican speakers voicing racist and sexist talking points and dog-whistles in the lead-up to next week’s presidential election.
Podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe and David Rem, a sanitation worker said to be Trump’s childhood friend – some reports claim the pair only met for the first time two weeks ago – took to the stage.
Here is a round-up of what some speakers had to say.
Tony Hinchcliffe: ‘These Latinos, they love making babies‘
Hinchcliffe made crude remarks about Latino families before Trump took to the stage.
“Believe it or not, people, I welcome migrants to the United States of America with open arms. And by open arms, I mean like this,” the comedian said, waving his hands and mouthing: “No, go back.”
He went on to say: “It’s wild. These Latinos, they love making babies. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.”
Tony Hinchcliffe: ‘Black guy… we carved watermelons together‘
Hinchcliffe also targeted one man in the audience, pointing to him and saying: “That’s cool, Black guy with a thing on his head. What the hell is that, a lampshade?
“Look at this guy, oh my goodness. Wow! I’m just kidding, that’s one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun, we carved watermelons together. It was awesome.”
The watermelon stereotype is an anti-Black racist trope that originated in southern states.
Tony Hinchcliffe: Puerto Rico is a ‘floating island of garbage‘
Hinchcliffe has faced a backlash for his speech, which also included his perspective on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, which is a US territory.
“I don’t know if you guys know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
His comments sparked controversy inside the Republican Party, with even Trump’s senior adviser, Danielle Alvarez, telling Newsweek that the “joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”.
María Elvira Salazar, the representative for Florida’s 27th congressional district, posted that she was “disgusted” by the comments.
Disgusted by @TonyHinchcliffe’s racist comment calling Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage.'
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) October 27, 2024
This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values.
Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect.
Educate yourself!
“This rhetoric does not reflect [Republican] values,” she wrote. “Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself.”
Democrats Tim Walz and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticised the comments, prompting Hinchcliffe to respond: “These people have no sense of humour.
“Wild that a vice-presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyse a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist.
These people have no sense of humor. 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… https://t.co/VFxHRcdv5k
— Tony Hinchcliffe (@TonyHinchcliffe) October 27, 2024
“I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone… watch the whole set.”
One of the most-hotly contested states when voters go to the polls on 5 November is Pennsylvania – and it a sizeable number of Latino voters, so the “joke” might yet rebound on Trump, and, despite following Hinchcliffe on to the stage at Madison Square Garden, the former president did not comment on the comedian’s speech.
In the wake of the comments, Puerto Rican stars Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin all threw their support behind Harris.
Kamala Harris is the ‘antichrist‘
Speaking about Harris, Rem told the audience: “In fact, she is the devil, whoever screamed that out. She is [the] antichrist.”
American businessman Grant Cardone joined in the attack, saying: “Kamala Harris is the least qualified candidate to ever run for any political office in American history. She makes her boss look competent. She’s a fake. I’m not here to invalidate her. She’s a fake, a fraud. She’s a pretender.
“Her and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.”
Hillary Clinton is ‘some sick b****rd‘
Meanwhile, controversial Jewish radio personality Sid Rosenberg took aim at former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“She is some sick b****rd, huh?” he said. “What a sick son of a b****. The whole f***ing party. A bunch of degenerates. Jew-haters and low-lifes, every one of ’em.”
Comparisons between Trump’s rally and pro-Nazi gathering
Sid Rosenberg also noted that he had just returned from a trip to Israel. “They love Trump in Israel. Just you know, they love him,” he declared.
“I get back and they go: ‘Sid, you want to speak at this [Madison Square Garden] thing?’ I go, ‘Sure, out of character for me to speak at a Nazi rally. I was just in Israel’. But I took the gig.”
Rosenberg was referring to the comparisons that Trump’s rally has drawn to the notorious mass gathering held by the pro-Hitler German American Bund at the venue a few months before Germany invaded Poland, sparking WWII.
Clinton pointed out the similarities between the two events during a recent interview with CNN.
“Trump is re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939,” she claimed. “I don’t think we can ignore it. “Now, it may be a leap for some people and a lot of others may think: ‘I don’t want to go there, I don’t want to say that’. But open your eyes to the danger that this man poses to our country because I think it is clear and present for anybody paying attention.”
Walz echoed Clinton’s point at a rally in Nevada, saying: “Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden.
“There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the 1930s at Madison Square Garden. And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there.”
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