Who is Tony Hinchcliffe, the comedian who insulted Puerto Rico at Trump’s rally?

NEW YORK (AP) — Of the nearly 30 speakers who recently warmed up audiences for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe received the most attention for racist remarks.

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said, later including lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and black people.

The comments have drawn condemnation from Democrats and Puerto Rican celebrities, with Ricky Martin sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe’s set with the caption: “This is what they think of us.”

The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

Here’s what you need to know about Hinchcliffe, his comedic style and the response to his Madison Square Garden comments.

Who is Tony Hinchcliffe?

Raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Hinchcliffe is a stand-up comedian who specializes in the roast style, where comedians take the stage to skewer a celebrity victim with personal and often tasteless jokes. He has written and performed on eight Comedy Central Roasts, including those for Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady.

Even other comedians are not immune. At the Snoop Dogg roast, Hichcliffe made a joke about comedian Luenell, who is Black, being on the subway. Of the honoree, he said: “Snoop, you look like the California raisin that got hooked on heroin.”

He had a Netflix special in 2016 – “Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot” – which was filmed in one continuous take. But he is perhaps most famous for hosting the Kill Tony podcast since 2013, which involves both professional and amateur comedians performing for a panel of judges for 60 seconds and then enduring their critiques.

He started opening for comics like Joe Rogan, who did a three-hour interview with Trump on his podcast last week, and Jeff Ross and is credited with writing Martha Stewart’s sassy pingers for a roast Justin Bieber.

He has faced backlash before, most notably after he used a racial slur in 2021 about fellow comedian and Asian American Peng Dang during a concert in Austin, Texas. Hinchcliffe was dropped by his talent agency, WME, and several of his scheduled concerts were canceled. He never apologized.

“I knew that what I had done was not wrong. It wasn’t even the worst thing I did that week,” he told Variety earlier this year. “It was so stupid to me because it was a joke, and my position is that comedians should never apologize for a joke, should never stop working if everyone is after them, and should never slow down.”

How have others reacted to Hinchcliffe’s Trump meeting routine?

The Democratic vice presidential candidate, Governor Tim Walz called Hinchcliffe a “jack-wad” and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat with Puerto Rican roots, called it “super-outrageous.”

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott, up for re-election this year in a state heavily populated with Puerto Ricans, wrote on social media that “the joke bombed for a reason” and “Puerto Ricans are great people and great Americans!”

How did Hinchcliffe react this time?

Roast – or insult – comedians often claim that there are no lines in comedy and that anything, no matter how sensitive, is fair game. Hinchcliffe responded to his Madison Square Garden set with a variation of don’t expect an apology.

“These people have no sense of humor,” he complained to X. “Fantastic 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.”

Hinchcliffe has previously made controversial jokes about Sean “Diddy” Combs, George Floyd and The Baltimore Bridge is collapsing.

“I think people need to realize that we are professionals. And yes, of course, we deal with the consequences of what happens,” he told Variety.