CNN —
Donald Trump’s rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden was marked by a series of profane attacks on Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, other Democratic leaders, Puerto Rico, and immigrants sheltering in the city. It has begun.
Local Trump supporters, who preceded the former president and made up much of the event’s speaker list, used the opportunity to air familiar grievances against some of the former president’s favorite targets. For example, one unsuccessful Republican House candidate called Harris the “Antichrist.”
The rally began with comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe attacking Puerto Rico, the city with the largest Puerto Rican population in the continental United States. About 500,000 Puerto Ricans also live in Pennsylvania, the battleground state where Harris campaigned on Sunday.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this, but right now there are literally floating islands of trash in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
The procession was well received by Trump supporters who filled Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan. President Trump has recently railed against illegal immigrants, calling the United States “the trash can of the world.”
The Harris campaign captured the moment, quickly cutting the video and posting it on its social media channels. The vice president visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in north Philadelphia on Sunday and spoke about his vision for the island and his plans to reduce costs and create opportunities for Puerto Rican communities on the mainland.
Pop superstar Bad Bunny, whose album Un Verano Sin Ti became the world’s most streamed album of 2023, with 4.5 billion plays on streaming platform Spotify, immediately announced to his 45 million Instagram followers Harris posted a video detailing his plans for Puerto Rico. Hinchcliffe left the stage.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, whose re-election campaign relies on massive support from the state’s Puerto Rican community, joined in the backlash, writing about the “joke” about X: Puerto Ricans are great people and great Americans! ”
Mr Hinchcliffe also addressed the controversy on social media, saying his critics had “no sense of humour”.
“I love Puerto Rico and love vacationing there. I made fun of everyone…look at the whole set,” he wrote.
In particular, Republican politician David Rehm followed Harris, waving a cross and calling her the “Satan” and “Antichrist.”
“She is the antichrist,” Lem shouted, adding that she planned to run for mayor.
Another speaker, radio host Sid Rosenberg, who once sat next to Don Imus on WFAN, the area’s largest sports station, began by talking about the Democratic candidate eight years ago. attacked Mr. Clinton.
“She’s a bad ass, isn’t she Hillary Clinton?” he said, bringing up Trump’s own past comments. “What a sick son.”
Mr. Rosenberg then turned his attention to the immigrants now living in New York City and directed his anger at local government’s attempts to feed and house them.
“Homeless people, veterans, Americans, Americans were sleeping in their own excrement on benches in Central Park,” Rosenberg said. “But illegal aliens get whatever they want, right?”
