Former President Trump said Tuesday that he didn’t know the comedian who cracked several bigoted jokes at his Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend.
Why it matters: Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s controversial remarks have drawn bipartisan backlash, and Trump frequently claims not to know people in his orbit when they become political liabilities.
- People Trump claims not to have known include rapper Lil Jon, who was a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice; Prince Andrew; Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who was part an effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate President Biden; Gordon Sondland, who Trump appointed ambassador to the European Union; and Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s short-lived White House communications director.
Flashback: Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” during his speech Sunday night.
- His comments angered Puerto Ricans across the country and the Trump campaign was quick to try and distance itself from his remarks.
- “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement earlier this week.
What he’s saying: “I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is,” Trump told ABC News’ Rachel Scott Tuesday.
- Despite the growing controversy surrounding Hinchcliffe’s remarks, Trump insisted that he hadn’t seen his comments.
- When asked what he thought of Hinchcliffe’s comments, Trump reiterated that he hadn’t heard them, per ABC News.
Zoom out: Puerto Ricans are a critical part of the Latino electorate across the country and large Puerto Rican communities exist in key swing states like North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania is perhaps the most consequential state on the electoral map and both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris view securing it as key to their path to 270 electoral votes.
- Nearly half a million people of Puerto Rican descent live in Pennsylvania.
What to watch: Trump is due to campaign in Allentown, Pennsylvania — a town with a large Puerto Rican population — on Tuesday night.
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