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Just a few days back, on Sunday (Oct 27), a comedian at a Donald Trump rally in New York City made the headlines for all the wrong reasons and sent the US election race into the "garbage" so to say.

During his opening set at Madison Square Garden, Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made comments that leaned into racial stereotypes, including a jab calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage," sparking widespread backlash.

Hinchcliffe is a comedian known for making offensive remarks and a "roast" style of insult comedy.

He began his career in 2007 and has opened for the likes of popular comedians like Joe Rogan and Jeff Ross.

Since 2013, he has hosted a weekly podcast, "Kill Tony" with the comedian and podcast producer Brian Redban.

In 2020, he made a comment on Kobe Bryant, the day the basketball star died in a helicopter crash.

Hinchcliffe, in a risky joke on Twitter (now X), referred to Kobe's reputation of hogging the ball and said "Kobe passing? That can't be true."

The next year, in 2021, he was in the headlines for using a racial slur to describe Peng Dang, an Asian American stand-up comedian and actor.

At the time, amid heavy criticism, he refused to apologise and told Variety, "I knew that what I had done was not wrong."

"My stance is that comedians should never apologize for a joke, should never stop working if everyone comes after them and should never slow down.

In fact, they should utilize anything that happens to them for more material," He added.

What did he say in Madison Garden?
Leaning into the racist stereotype that Latinos are preoccupied with childbearing and averse to birth control, the comedian said they "love making babies" and do not "pull out".

"There's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now," Hinchcliffe said, adding, "I think it's called Puerto Rico."

As expected, his insensitive remarks garnered quite the condemnation, including from US President Joe Biden, who came up with his own "garbage" statement, earning a lot of backlash.

Biden's "garbage" comment
During a campaign call, in what can be perceived as disparaging comments towards Trump supporters, Biden responding to the inflammatory remarks by Hinchcliffe said "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters."

He also slammed Trump's rhetoric against Latinos, calling it "unconscionable" and "un-American".

Democratic Party presidential nominee Kamala Harris quickly distanced herself from the ire.

"I strongly disagree," Harris said, adding, "Listen, I think, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for."

"You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career.

I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not," she added.