Puerto Rican celebrities are responding to Donald Trump and Tony Hinchcliffe after a rally at Madison Square Garden last weekend became a breeding ground for xenophobic and racist rhetoric against the territory.

Home to 3.2 million Americans, Puerto Rico was the target of inflammatory remarks by comedian and podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe, who spoke at a rally ahead of former President Donald Trump. Hinchcliffe began Sunday evening with sexual jokes about Latinos, including saying, "They love making babies." He went on to say, "There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you 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."

The joke was met with immediate backlash from politicians like Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign. They said Hinchcliffe's speech was a “vile racist tirade against Latinos.”

Even Trump attempted to distance himself from the comments. Trump campaign senior advisor Daniella Alvarez said in a statement that the “joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or........

© Salon