The comedian who unleashed a series of racist jokes, some about Puerto Rico, at former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday night workshopped the material the night before at a local comedy club.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” to warm up the New York City crowd — drawing immediate criticism from across the political spectrum and what should have been a night with Trump in the final stretch of the show was emphasized, derailed. campaign.

It wasn’t the first time Hinchcliffe had used the Puerto Rico line — he practiced it at New York City comedy club The Stand, where he made a surprise appearance on Saturday night, according to an NBC News producer and three other people who happened to be in the audience .

The joke elicited no laughter, just a handful of awkward chuckles. Hinchcliffe told the audience that he would be performing at the rally at Madison Square Garden the next day, saying several times during his routine that he would get a better reaction “tomorrow at the rally.”

The Trump campaign was asked on Noticias Telemundo on Monday whether it was aware of Hinchcliffe’s jokes in advance. Vianca Rodríguez, deputy director of Spanish communications for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, said in Spanish that “they don’t have absolute control” over what speakers say, though she was asked about Hinchcliffe reading from a teleprompter.

On Monday, the Trump campaign referred NBC News to senior adviser Danielle Alvarez’s statement on Sunday, which said: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Hinchcliffe, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, posted Sunday after the controversy that the joke was “taken out of context to make it seem racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”

‘Taken to another level’

Many in the Puerto Rican community said they felt the sting of the comments, saying they mainly focused attention back on the criticism Trump received over his handling of Hurricane Maria while president.

The criticism and controversy over Hinchcliffe’s joke — which Trump himself did not deny when he addressed the rally or later — are now at the forefront as the two presidential candidates battle for the support of Puerto Rican voters, especially those who remain undecided. Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland make up the country’s largest group of Latino voters after Mexican Americans.

In Pennsylvania, Rafael Collazo, executive director of the Latino advocacy group UnidosUS Action Fund, told NBC News Monday morning that he was receiving calls from outraged Puerto Ricans who volunteered on their doors in Philadelphia and Reading in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. There, Puerto Rican voters form a decisive electorate.

The group, which endorsed Harris in July, has reached out to more than 20,000 Puerto Rican and other Latino voters in the state and reached many others through phone banking. But the controversy over the racist comments “has taken it to another level,” Collazo said.

“This is just a great reminder of what a potential Trump presidency would mean for the Puerto Rican community, and it would wreak havoc,” he said.

The controversy ultimately brought more attention to Harris, as the racist comments came hours after her plan “to help build a better future for Puerto Rico” was released and she visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia.

Shortly after Harris unveiled her Puerto Rico proposals on Sunday, global reggaeton star Bad Bunny reposted her videos, including her criticism of Trump’s handling of the hurricane, to his 45 million followers — earning his long-awaited support.

In addition to Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony lambasted Trump for his actions during Hurricane Maria, while supporting Harris and posting on Instagram: “I remember after Hurricane Maria devastated our island… Trump blocked billions in aid… while thousands died. I remember when our families didn’t have clean water and electricity, Trump threw paper towels and called Puerto Rico ‘dirty’ and ‘poor.’ He added that he wasn’t “surprised” because Trump “launched his campaign by calling Latinos criminals and rapists.” .”

After the 2017 hurricane, Trump repeatedly opposed disaster funding for Puerto Rico, disputing and failing to acknowledge Maria’s death toll — nearly 3,000 people in the U.S. territory, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane in 100 years. Trump also drew attention to disparaging statements about Puerto Rico after Maria, including “they want everything done for them,” and tossing out paper towels during a visit to the island after the deadly hurricane.

During his presidency, Congress approved a total of $20 billion in federal housing funds to help rebuild Puerto Rico after the hurricane, a historic amount. But the Trump administration prevented Puerto Rico from receiving such funds and obstructed a government investigation into officials who withheld the aid, according to a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General.

As Harris headed to Michigan on Monday after campaigning in Pennsylvania, she told reporters that her plan for Puerto Rico would focus on the “opportunity economy” and create a task force focused on the island’s specific needs, including tackling the deteriorated electricity grid and improving public-private partnerships.

Harris also praised the support she has received from Puerto Rican celebrities who say they reflect the voices of those who want “a president who uplifts the people and doesn’t berate them and call America a garbage can.”

In addition to Bad Bunny and Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda and “Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi shared Harris’ plan for Puerto Rico on their Instagram stories.

The controversy also sparked numerous TikTok videos from Puerto Ricans posting beautiful scenes of the tropical island juxtaposed with the “floating island of trash comments.”

Puerto Ricans have become a highly sought-after electorate for both the Harris and Trump campaigns.

Battleground Pennsylvania, where poll margins show a razor-thin race, is home to the country’s third-largest Puerto Rican diaspora.

More than half of Pennsylvania’s nearly 580,000 eligible Latino voters are of Puerto Rican descent. Considering the state’s last presidential election was decided by fewer than 81,000 votes, Puerto Rican voters “could be decisive” if they vote this year, according to UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute, while turnout was low in the elections. past, according to data from the institute.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania is leading efforts to engage Latino and Puerto Rican voters in the state. The organization did not respond to an email asking whether Hinchcliffe’s comments had an effect on its efforts to mobilize the electorate.

Several members of the Republican Party who have endorsed Trump, such as Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico’s non-voting member of Congress and the candidate for governor of the island’s pro-state party, criticized the racist remarks while also trying to argue that the comments “did not represent the values ​​of the Republican Party.”