Vivek Ramaswamy on whether he was hurt by Puerto Rico joke: ‘It wasn’t funny…’ – Times of India

GOP leader and former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said the Puerto Rico joke made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden event was bad because it wasn’t funny but he absolved Donald Trump from the controversy and asked why Kamala Harris was not held responsible for a similar joke made by comedian George Lopez where he called all Mexicans thieves.
“I think we need to all get off our high horses and acknowledge that a bad joke was told. It was bad because it wasn’t very funny. The audience didn’t find it funny,” Vivek said. “If the George Lopez joke had been told at the Donald Trump rally you and I both know we’d be talking about that,” he said. “But because it was at a Kamala Harris rally we’re not saying a word about it. And I think that that’s just hypocritical.”
Hinchcliffe in an attempt to be funny referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” and mocked Latino birthrates.
The Puerto Rico joke became the latest issue with only a week remaining before the election as a Trump adviser distanced the former president from the joke which was denounced by the Kamala Harris campaign as well.
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance said he heard the joke but he saw no reason to take the joke seriously. “I’ve heard about the joke, I haven’t actually seen the joke that you mentioned, but I think that it’s telling that Kamala Harris’ closing message is essentially that all of Donald Trump’s voters are Nazis, and you should get really pissed off about a comedian telling a joke,” Vance said. “Maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke as you said, maybe it’s not. I haven’t seen it. I’m not going to comment on the specifics of the joke,” he added. “But I think that we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America. I’m just — I’m so over it.”
What was the Puerto Rico joke?
“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,” Hinchcliffe said and then suggested Latinos “loved making babies”.