GOP Sen. Rick Scott Rips Trump Rally Comic for Puerto Rican ‘Garbage’ Joke: ‘It’s Not Funny and It’s Not True’

Republican Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) slammed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe for a joke Scott said “bombed for a reason” Sunday at the Trump rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Scott said the joke “bombed” and urged his followers to spend their tourism dollars on the island and US territory.

In the hours after Hinchcliffe attracted backlash for equating Puerto Rico with “garbage,” Scott took to X, formerly Twitter, and shared a report about the backlash on it from The Hill.

“This joke bombed for a reason,” the senator commented. “It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans! I’ve been to the island many times. It’s a beautiful place. Everyone should visit! I will always do whatever I can to help any Puerto Rican in Florida or on the island.”

Hinchcliffe was warming up a crowd in Manhattan hours before former President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak when he took aim at the island territory.

“Republicans are the party with the good sense of humor,” the comedian said. “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico?”

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quickly reacted with offense during a Twitch stream.

Hinchcliffe responded to the lawmakers, writing online:

These people 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. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone…watch the whole set. I’m a comedian Tim…might be time to change your tampon.

In the hours after Hinchliffe’s joke, Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin shared a clip of it on his Instagram story and urged his followers to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris:

Martin has 18.6 million followers on the platform.

Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny did not mention Hinchcliffe’s joke specifically but did share a video of Harris vowing to take care of the territory on his Instagram story Sunday evening for his 45.6 million followers.

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