Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe has gained an ally following controversy from his appearance at former President Donald Trump’s rally. Late-night host Jon Stewart said he personally finds Hinchcliffe “very funny.”
Hinchcliffe was among the guest speakers at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, during which he jokingly referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” While several left-wing news personalities, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have condemned Hinchcliffe’s comments as “extremely vile, so-called jokes,” Stewart joked that this was the title of “my comedy album from the ’90s.”
“Now obviously, in retrospect, having a roast comedian come to a political rally a week before Election Day and roasting a key voting demographic probably not the best decision by the campaign politically,” Stewart said while hosting Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. “But to be fair, the guy’s really just doing what he does!”
Stewart then showed a clip showcasing Hinchcliffe’s previous comedic work, including a roast session of NFL legend Tom Brady. During this session, Hinchcliffe poked fun at fellow comedian Jeff Ross’s Jewish faith and actor Kevin Hart’s height and heritage.
“Yes, yes, of course, terrible, boo, yes,” Stewart said mockingly. “There’s something wrong with me, I find that guy very funny.”
The late-night host then contended that inviting Hinchcliffe to speak at Trump’s rally and not tell offensive jokes would be the equivalent of Vice President Kamala Harris inviting musician Beyonce to her rally and not performing any musical numbers, a jab referencing Beyonce’s appearance at Harris’s rally on Friday.
Trump has not condemned Hinchcliffe’s jokes following the rally, stating “someone put him up there” and that he did not know him beforehand.
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While several Republicans have distanced themselves from Hinchcliffe’s jokes at the Madison Square Garden rally, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) suggested that people need to “take a joke” in the wake of the controversy. Trump’s running mate also contended that Harris’s closing message to voters is “you should get really pissed off about a comedian telling a joke” and that she is not running a winning campaign.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has also defended Hinchcliffe, arguing he is “an insult comic who offends virtually everyone.” He also said, however, that he understood why some were offended and that Puerto Rico “isn’t garbage.”