New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) slammed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's controversial comments and reaction about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally on Sunday, as well as the whole event, which she described as a "mini Jan. 6 rally."
The lawmaker first mocked Hinchcliffe, host of the popular podcast "Kill Tony," for claiming people criticizing him for calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" don't have a sense of humor and took his line out of context "to make it seem racist."
AOC, who reacted to the words along with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, claimed: "Can't get over this dude telling someone else to change tampons when he's the one sh---ing bricks in his Depends after realizing opening for a Trump rally and feeding red-meat racism alongside a throng of other bigots to a frothing crowd does, unironically, make you one of them."
Can’t get over this dude telling someone else to change tampons when he’s the one shitting bricks in his Depends after realizing opening for a Trump rally and feeding red-meat racism alongside a throng of other bigots to a frothing crowd does, unironically, make you one of them. https://t.co/kr82avveYs
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 28, 2024
Answering to another passage of Hinchcliffe's publication where he says he loves Puerto Rico, the lawmaker said: "You don't 'love Puerto Rico.' You like drinking piña coladas. There's a difference."
Hinchcliffe also got backlash for another controversial line about Latinos in general. "These Latinos, they love making babies. They do. There's no pulling out. They don't do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country."
The comedian has drawn criticism from within the GOP, with the Trump campaign saying the Puerto Rico comments do "not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign."
Florida Senator Rick Scott said, "This joke bombed for a reason." "It's not funny and it's not true." Rep. María Elvira Salazar, also from Florida, said the "rhetoric does not reflect GOP values."
Speaking at MSNBC on Monday, AOC blasted the rally as a whole, saying it's "important for people to know that this was a hate rally." "It was not just a presidential rally, not just a campaign rally. These are mini Jan. 6 rallies, mini 'Stop the steal' rallies, these are rallies to prime an electorate to reject the results of an election if it doesn't go the way that they want."
AOC calls Trump’s rally a ‘hate rally.’
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) October 28, 2024
“This was a hate rally. This was not just a presidential rally, this was not just a campaign rally. I think it's important for people to understand these are mini January 6 rallies, these are mini Stop the Steal rallies.” pic.twitter.com/PD1V4YCUHV
"Donald Trump and that entire cadre of people do not respect the law of the U.S. They either want to win this election. Or using rhetoric of taking it by force. That is what they mean and that is what they're doing when they are inciting violence and hatred against Latinos, Black Americans, Americans who don't have children."
