Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe came under fire for comments about Latinos and Puerto Rico during former President Donald Trump’s Sunday campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

After making a vulgar joke about how Latinos “like to make babies,” Hinchcliffe later turned to the Caribbean island.

‘I don’t know if you know this, but there is literally a floating island full of rubbish in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.’

That joke came after Trump made a similar comment last Thursday, calling the US a “dustbin for the world” in an escalation of his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Hispanic groups on both sides of the aisle called Hinchcliffe’s comments “derogatory,” “offensive” and “disrespectful.”

According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated 36.2 million Latinos are eligible to vote, representing about 15% of the electorate. Puerto Ricans living on U.S. soil do not have the right to vote in presidential elections, but key swing states like Florida and North Carolina are home to prominent Hispanic and Latino communities.

“The Trump campaign’s tolerance for offensive humor, especially against Puerto Rico and its people, highlights a disturbing pattern of contempt toward the island’s people and its challenges,” the League of United Latin American Citizens said in a statement to ABC News. “Such careless words not only deepen the wounds, but also normalize the harmful rhetoric.”

The Republican National Latin American Assembly also condemned the comments.

“Such ignorant comments not only fail to represent Puerto Rico’s resilience, but also misrepresent the commitment that President Trump and his administration have shown to the island,” the statement said. “Puerto Ricans deserve respect and recognition for their resilience and contributions to this great nation.”

Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, noted in a statement to ABC News that the Trump campaign gave Hinchcliffe a platform to make his comments on the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign introduced a plan to resolve issues affecting Puerto Rico.

“Millions of Puerto Ricans in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and New York may no longer live on the island, but they still revere it as their ancestral and cultural home, and you can’t continue to disrespect us and think we’re not going to to remember when we go to the polls,” Miranda said.

Hinchcliffe also made jokes aimed at other racial or religious minorities, including both the black and Jewish communities. He defended his jokes online in response to criticism from Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Harris’ running mate Tim Walz.

“These people have no sense of humor,” Hinchcliffe wrote in an X post. “Wish a vice presidential candidate would take time out of his ‘busy schedule’ to analyze a joke taken out of context to make him seem racist.” I love Puerto Rico and my vacation there. I made fun of everyone… watch the whole set. I’m comedian Tim…maybe it’s time to change your tampon.”

The Trump campaign distanced itself from Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke against Puerto Rico.

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” Danielle Alvarez, Trump’s senior campaign adviser, wrote in a statement to ABC News.

Other GOP figures, including María Elvira Salazar, denounced the jokes online.

“This rhetoric does not reflect the values ​​of the GOP,” Salazar said on X.

The joke came shortly after Harris announced an “Opportunity Economy” plan for Puerto Rico, which was applauded online by prominent Latin American figures with tens of millions of followers, including singers Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Luis Fonsi.

Her plan includes creating a new task force for Puerto Rico with the goal of rebuilding and modernizing the territory’s energy grid, expanding access to clean energy, building affordable housing and more.

Trump has been criticized for the way he handled Hurricane Maria in 2017, during his first term. He has long overestimated how much disaster funding Puerto Rico received after the storm and also came under fire for infamously throwing paper towels at a crowd of Puerto Ricans at a shelter in the hurricane-ravaged area after Maria struck.

Additionally, during its response to 2017’s Hurricanes Irma and Maria, FEMA lost track of more than a quarter of a billion dollars in food and supplies destined for Puerto Rico, according to a Department of Homeland Security report that found delays and mismanagement in the disaster established. response efforts.

However, the Trump White House has approved nearly $13 billion in federal aid to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid and education system in 2020.