Minnesota Governor Tim Walz responded to controversial comments about Puerto Rico from a comedian and podcast host who opened Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden, calling the entertainer a "jackwad."
Comic Tony Hinchcliffe called the U.S. territory a "floating island of garbage" and made racist jokes about Latin Americans in the set ahead of Trump's appearance.
The vice presidential candidate's response came on a Twitch stream with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday. Walz also took the time to criticize Trump's handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.
“Does anybody remember how he responded to Maria in Puerto Rico? It was absolutely horrific, down there insulting people," Walz said. "Look, I know that the folks who are on here today understand this — people in Puerto Rico are citizens. They pay taxes and they serve in the military at almost a higher rate than anybody else.”
Gov. Walz and @AOC react to this clip: “When you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico ‘floating garbage,’ know that that's what they think about you. It's what they think about anyone who makes less money than them… I want every Puerto Rican in Philadelphia and Reading and… https://t.co/L5GdSvLJWT pic.twitter.com/y9DQTABM0v
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 27, 2024
Hinchcliffe has already responded to the backlash to his set, saying that Walz and AOC "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," he wrote on X. "I love Puerto Rico and vacation there."
