The presidential campaign for Donald Trump responded to the backlash over a comedian's joke about Puerto Rico at a rally in New York — saying it does not reflect the views of the former president.
Tony Hinchcliffe kicked off the rally at Madison Square Garden with the joke that many have called racist.
"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. Yeah, I think it's called Puerto Rico," he said.
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The comment quickly went viral, especially among those in the Puerto Rican community. Several influential Puerto Rican celebrities, including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin, expressed their support for Kamala Harris following the comment, which was made on the same day the vice president laid out initiatives she believes will benefit Puerto Ricans.
The joke about Puerto Rico was not the only comment criticized at Trump's rally. Stephen Miller said "America is for Americans" while Rudy Giuliani claimed Palestinians are taught to kill by age 2. Others described Vice President Kamala Harris as the "devil" and the "Antichrist."
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Trump himself called Harris a "very low IQ individual," and pledged to deport what he called vicious and bloodthirsty immigrants whom he said have invaded and conquered American cities.
Despite New York not being a state Trump is expected to compete in, the rally drew about 20,000 attendees and was billed as Trump's closing argument before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
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