Trump-supporting comedian opens MSG rally by calling Puerto Rico a 'floating pile of trash'

Donald Trump's rallies in the final weeks of the campaign were marked by open racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, and that didn't end with the former president's hometown visit to Madison Square Garden.

The rally at the home of the New York Knicks began with a speech by podcaster and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. The “Kill Tony” host joined the Trump campaign's recent escalation of anti-immigrant talk, saying that “Latinos love having babies” and calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash.”

Hinchliffe's jokes are consistent with Trump's general disdain for Puerto Rico. During his time in office, he attempted to divert federal disaster aid away from U.S. territory to help build its border wall. A former administration homeland security secretary said Trump asked whether it would be possible for the U.S. to sell the island while it recovers from Hurricane Maria.

The hostility toward Puerto Ricans who are American citizens echoes recent arguments from Trump himself. The former president has vowed to deport legal residents who have immigrated to the U.S., saying recent immigrants to the U.S. have turned the country into a “dustbin.”

In addition to a rally in Colorado where Trump spent hours stoking concerns about immigrants from Latin America, the former president has repeatedly claimed that Haitian immigrants in Ohio eat “cats” and other local pets. Although the claim has been debunked by local authorities (and his vice president admitted that the story was made up to support their narrative), Trump continues to promote the idea of ​​a frightening immigrant other.

Many former members of the Trump administration fear that he is an outright “fascist” and would rule like a dictator if he were allowed a second term.