October 29, 2024 11:00 AM UTC

Lauren Boebert Rushes To Defend Trump's Bad Humor Man

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

By now, you’ve probably heard about the public relations disaster that unfolded for Donald Trump’s campaign at a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, in which comedian and podcast star Tony Hinchcliffe deadpanned his way through a routine that denigrated just about everybody except for the undereducated white males most steadfastly in the Trump camp–including the entire population of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the diaspora from which now making up a pivotal swing voter bloc in must-win states like Pennsylvania.

In short, as even Fox News conceded yesterday in their damage control piece, the offensive spectacle was a huge blow to Trump’s campaign:

The Trump campaign is distancing itself from remarks made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during former President Donald Trump’s New York City rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, after he jokingly described a U.S. territory as a “floating island of garbage.”

“It is absolutely wild times – it really, really is. And, you know, there’s a lot going on. Like, 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,” Hinchcliffe said, earning him immediate criticism from both sides of the aisle…

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior Trump campaign adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Although much attention has focused on Hinchcliffe’s remarks about Puerto Ricans in particular, as NBC News reports, the over-the-top prejudice didn’t stop there:

Hinchcliffe, taking the first slot among nearly 30 warmup speakers, launched into a crude and disparaging set of jokes about the conflict in the Middle East, Black voters and Latinos.

“These Latinos, they love making babies, too. Just know that they do,” Hinchcliffe said, setting up his joke: “There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside, just like they did to our country.”

Florida Republicans with sense enough to run away screaming are doing so:

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., later wrote on social media that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s “racist comment.”

“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,” she wrote.

“This joke bombed for a reason,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., posted on X. “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.”

And for good measure, here’s Hinchcliffe addressing an African American in the crowd:

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. We had a Halloween party last night. We had fun. We carved watermelons together. It was awesome.

To be clear, we’re not advocating for the censorship of comedians who push the boundaries of appropriateness. But if you can’t see the difference between a comedy routine at a comedy club and a political rally for the aspiring next President of the United States, you probably shouldn’t be in this business at all.

This is where, once again, we cue Colorado’s moth to the flame of carpetbagging controversy, Rep. Lauren Boebert:

Naturally, we’d like to know specifically which line in Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist tirade “sparked” Boebert’s “flame of freedom,” and what any of this has to do with the release of 2020 coupmaster Steve Bannon from federal prison other than the three of them being personally disagreeable people. All we can say is, Boebert must be feeling extremely confident in her new redder (and whiter) congressional district to embrace racist remarks so far out of the mainstream that even the Trump campaign had to distance themselves. With the controversy over Hinchcliffe’s and some other speakers’ remarks at Sunday’s rally showing no signs of abating one week from the election, this is a Tweet that could age very poorly even by Boebert’s already low standards.

Boebert has her audience, but Bad Bunny’s is…a little bigger. And more likely to prove decisive in swing states next Tuesday.