Trump Allies Rebuke Tony Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico Insults: ‘Double Stupid’

Peter Navarro, a former member of the Trump administration, as well as Republican New York Representative Mike Lawler have now both called out comedian Tony Hinchcliffe for his “inappropriate rhetoric” over the weekend.

Following the mockery Hinchcliffe faced after calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” during former President Donald Trump‘s rally in Madison Square Garden, Navarro has now packed on the heat, condemning the comedian.

“The joke itself isn’t even funny, and that ultimately why it was double stupid,” Navarro posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “Oh, and you ‘vacation’ there. Sounds like ‘some of my best friends are’ crap. How about admitting it was in poor taste in the stretch run of the most important presidential election in history?”

The joke, which Hinchcliffe said was taken out of context, was made during a section of his set about Latino people. “Where are my proud Latinos at tonight?” he said, before launching into a series of jokes about immigration and the Texas-Mexico border. “You guys see what I mean? It’s wide open; there’s so many of them,” he said.

“There is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico?” Hinchcliffe said, prompting murmurs and silence from the crowd.

In an email to Newsweek, Trump senior advisor Danielle Alvarez said: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Lawler, who is facing a challenge this election from former Representative Mondaire Jones, noted in his comments that “more than 20,000 New Yorkers of every race, color, religion and creed attended the rally at MSG this weekend.”

“I categorically condemn the racist comments made by one unfunny comedian and over-the-top, inappropriate rhetoric by others long before President Trump took the stage,” Lawler wrote. “Likewise, I condemn those suggesting that everyone there was a Nazi. What a ridiculous and insulting thing to say, especially to the thousands of Jews in attendance – who, by the way, were far safer and more welcomed at MSG than they would be at Columbia University.”

Hinchliffe has faced backlash from Puerto Ricans and Democratic politicians as well, saying his comments were racist toward Black and Latino attendees at the Trump rally.

When Kamala Harris‘s campaign posted a video on X of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz criticizing the remark alongside Puerto Rican New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hinchcliffe defended himself, saying the politicians had no sense of humor.

“These people have no sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe wrote on X. “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.”

Navarro, however, seemed to agree with the opposing side.

“No one worked harder for Puerto Rico after that hurricanes hit than Donald Trump,” Navarro posted. “Tony Hinchcliffe must be the biggest, stupidest a****** that ever came down the comedy pike.”

Navarro, a former trade adviser to Trump, has also recently criticized the Republican nominee’s campaign rallies, urging for a strategic shift to include more policy content.

In the Washington Times, Navarro argued that Trump “needs votes,” stating that “the current rally formula is not sufficiently focused on the stark policy differences between him and Kamala Harris that will swing voters in battleground states.”

Navarro served as a trade adviser under Trump. He was in custody for four months for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges.