'They were all high-fiving me': Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe says his Puerto Rico joke helped Trump's campaign

Stand-up comedian and host Tony Hinchcliffe said his joke about Puerto Rico last October helped the Donald Trump campaign because it grabbed headlines for more than a week just before the presidential election.

Hinchcliffe made countless news feeds when he joked about Puerto Rico being an "island of garbage" at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally in October.

Democrats reacted as expected and subsequently compared Trump's rally to a Nazi gathering filled with vitriol. For example, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) claimed that's what Republicans "think about you," meaning Republicans believe that Americans are literal garbage.

On an episode of Bill Maher's "Club Random" over the weekend, Hinchcliffe said the Trump team later thanked him for the happy distraction.

"When I was at the inauguration and everything, trust me, they were all high-fiving me and kissing my ass," Hinchcliffe said about Trump's staff. "They look at me doing what I did and accidentally, right — it couldn't have been planned — accidentally being the news for nine godd**n days during an election week."

"Stop pretending you don't love it," Maher teased in response.

Tony Hinchcliffe performs in Austin, Texas, in 2022. Photo by Errich Petersen/Getty Images for SXSW

Hinchcliffe added that while it was a "very stressful" time for him, he managed to "ride that wave" and come out better on the other side.

As for Vice President JD Vance, history will likely look back fondly at his defense of Hinchcliffe's jokes.

During a press conference the day after the rally, Vance fielded a question from a reporter who characterized Hinchcliffe's remarks as "racist" and wanted to know if the Trump campaign supported such a "tone."

Vance explained that he did not believe the proper reaction to the joke was to call Trump supporters "Nazis" and that overall, people needed to "stop getting so offended" by comedy.

"I'm so over it," Vance stated.

'He would nail it every time, day after day.'

Vance further explained the absurdity of the left-leaning reactions on Joe Rogan's podcast, where he noted the excessive amount of coverage Hinchcliffe's jokes got on networks like CNN, MSNBC, CBS, and more.

Hinchcliffe told Maher he was pleased with how Vance handled the backlash and praised the politician for seeing the situation through the lens of comedy.

"He would nail it every time, day after day," Hinchcliffe said of the soon-to-be vice president. "He was just taking the questions like he was a comedian, like he understood the perspective of the mission."

Hinchcliffe revealed that he hoped his appearance at the Trump rally would influence maybe a "thousand" votes in the president's favor and thought it would be "awesome" if the president gave him at least some praise.

Maher then asked if Hinchcliffe actually did get to speak with Trump, to which Hinchcliffe said, "No," causing the two comedians to burst out in laughter.

Hinchcliffe never did apologize for his jokes and has pointed out on his own podcast that there is, indeed, an actual garbage issue in Puerto Rico.

Well before the comedian ever appeared at the Trump rally, environmental websites were covering the island's landfill problem and said the country would soon be at capacity for garbage.

The St. Kitts and Nevis Observer even said that the island's infrastructure was under considerable strain and many of its landfills were over capacity.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!