ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul discussed immigration, crime, and former Pres. Donald Trump on Monday morning. She responded to a joke from podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe that referred to Puerto Rico as an "island of garbage in the middle of the ocean."
Hochul called the Trump campaign stop in New York City's Madison Square Garden—where Hinchcliffe made the comment—a circus. "What was said by the speakers before Donald Trump and what he said just reminded everyone, as he makes his closing argument, why he should never ever set foot again in the Oval Office," she said. "I represent one million Puerto Ricans. I am disgusted by that characterization. Donald Trump himself also called America a garbage dump."
Hochul's answers to questioning from Marla Diamond of 1010 Wins also covered migration more generally, referencing a bipartisan border bill that Trump allegedly influenced Congressional Republicans to vote down. "[He] told Republican leadership in Washington to kill it because it would have helped Democrats politically," she said. "They have no ground to stand on to criticize immigration in this country today because the answer was within their reach."
Finally, Hochul addressed the sentiment that people who migrate to the U.S.—legally or not—commit more crimes than American citizens. "There are no statistics that bear out a higher increase in crime committed by newly arrived individuals," she said. "That's part of a long list of falsehoods."
Hinchcliffe performed a comedy set as an opening act to Trump at a campaign stop before a packed crowd at the 19,000-seat MSG. He offered the setup, "There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now." Perhaps the comic alluded to the Great Pacific Garbage patch, a great concern for many environmentalists.
The surprising punchline, "I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” caused immediate controversy in the crowd at the Garden and online. Take a look at the clip below:
“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” said Trump senior adviser Danielle Alvarez in a statement.
"Trump and his surrogates peddled hatred and bigotry against immigrants, Latinos, women, Muslims, and Black people," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "All New Yorkers must reject such hate."
"Such language dehumanizes our communities and enables policies that displace and abuse the people of Puerto Rico," said Julio Lopez Varona, Co-Director of Community Dignity Campaigns at Popular Democracy in Action. "The 5.2 million Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. will not forget these comments."
On Sunday, shortly after Hinchcliffe's remarks made the rounds, Hochul was also in New York City at the United Bodegas of America Gala. There, she said, "We stand together and call out such vile hatred spewed against our friends and our neighbors and indeed in this case, American citizens.”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo also weighed in on Sunday, saying, "Donald Trump should immediately apologize for the garbage he brought to New York."
