Puerto Ricans in New York are angry over comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's “rubbish” remarks at the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden

SOUTH BRONX, New York City (WABC) — Outrage is mounting Monday after a comedian and several other speakers made racist comments at Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Approach a Puerto Rican in New York, watch the video of Sunday night's inflammatory comments about his homeland, and then watch the fire ignite.

“What kind of people say that? You don't know us. “Why do they judge like that?” one person said.

“It's really hard to accept that that came out of his mouth,” said another.

“I don't know if you know this, but right now there's literally a floating island made of trash in the middle of the ocean. I think her name is Puerto Rico,” stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe told the packed Madison crowd at Square Garden before former President Trump’s appearance.

The joke hit home, but the explosive fallout reverberated across the country, affecting the more than 5 million Puerto Ricans in the U.S. — many of whom are registered voters — and more than 3 million American citizens on the island.

“The convicted Trump did not say the words that were said at his rally. But that doesn’t matter because it was his rally,” said Luis Miranda, a political strategist.

In East Harlem, a who's who of Puerto Rican federal, state and city residents held a news conference to condemn comments made at a rally aimed at rallying supporters in a close presidential election. Instead, the comments could backfire in a crucial situation.

“He made a calculated mistake yesterday. Basically, he said goodbye to PA, to Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania we have 450,000 Puerto Ricans,” said New York Democrat Nydia Velazquez.

“This is about human rights, civil rights and this is about my people, my mother, my grandmother who died after Hurricane Maria. This is about our people who have suffered for far too long,” said Frankie Miranda of the Hispanic Federation.

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1917 and the first major wave of migration occurred after World War II to alleviate labor shortages. There are now more Puerto Ricans in the USA than on the island.

Those who stayed behind say they often feel like second-class citizens because they cannot vote in presidential elections and receive limited federal funding compared to U.S. states.

That simmering resentment erupted when Trump visited Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm. He threw paper towels into a crowd and disputed the storm's official death toll. Experts estimate that nearly 3,000 people died in the sweltering aftermath.

Jose Acevedo, a 48-year-old health worker from San Juan, shook his head as he recalled the emotions that coursed through him as he watched Sunday's rally.

“What humiliation, what discrimination!” he said early Monday as he waited to take a public bus to work.

Acevedo said he immediately texted relatives in New York, including an uncle who is a Republican and had planned to vote for Trump.

“He told me he had to weigh his decision,” Acevedo said, adding that his relatives were in shock. “They couldn’t believe it.”

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade condemned Hinchcliffe's comments, adding: “This insult will not diminish who we are or what we represent, but should remind us of the critical importance of voting on November 5th.”

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Some information from Associated Press

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