Tony Hincliffe's skillful remarks about Trump rally racist Puerto Rico at the comedy club the night before

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

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” to warm up New York City audiences – drawing immediate criticism from across the political spectrum and ending a night that was supposed to put Trump center stage Campaign wiped out part of the year.

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

The joke didn't get any laughs, just a few awkward laughs. Hinchcliffe told the audience that he would be performing at the Madison Square Garden rally the next day and said 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 had advance knowledge of Hinchcliffe's jokes. Vianca Rodríguez, the deputy director of Hispanic communications for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, said in Spanish that “they don't have absolute control” over what speakers say, although she was asked about the fact that Hinchcliffe was from one read aloud teleprompter.

On Monday, Trump's campaign referred NBC News to senior adviser Danielle Alvarez's Sunday statement, 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 appear racist. I love Puerto Rico and vacation there.”

“Taken to another level”

Many in the Puerto Rican community said they felt the pain of the remarks and said they brought the focus back to the criticism Trump received for his handling of Hurricane Maria during his time as president.

The criticism and controversy over Hinchcliffe's joke – which Trump himself did not disavow in his speech at the rally or later – is now at the forefront as the two presidential candidates vie for the support of Puerto Rican voters, particularly those who are still undecided. Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. mainland are the second largest group of Latino eligible voters in the country, after Mexican Americans.

In Pennsylvania, Rafael Collazo, executive director of the Latino advocacy group UnidosUS Action Fund, told NBC News on Monday morning that he had received calls from outraged Puerto Ricans who volunteered to knock on doors in Philadelphia and Reading to support Vice President Kamala Harris. Puerto Rican voters are likely to be a crucial constituency there.

The group that endorsed Harris in July knocked on the doors of more than 20,000 Puerto Rican and other Latino voters in the state and has reached many others through phone banking. But the controversy surrounding the racist remarks “took it to another level,” Collazo said.

“This is just a great reminder of what a possible Trump presidency would mean to the Puerto Rican community, and it would mean great harm,” he said.

The controversy ultimately brought more attention to Harris because the racist remarks came hours after she announced her plan to “contribute to a better future for Puerto Rico” and she visited a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philadelphia.

Shortly after Harris revealed 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 – giving her his long-awaited support .

Aside from Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony criticized Trump for his actions during Hurricane Maria while supporting Harris, posting on Instagram: “I remember after Hurricane Maria devastated our island… Trump blocked billions in aid… while thousands died.” I remember that when our families lacked clean water and electricity, Trump threw paper towels and called Puerto Rico “dirty” and “poor.” He added that he was not “surprised” because Trump “began his campaign by calling Latinos criminals and rapists.”

After the 2017 hurricane, Trump repeatedly rejected disaster funding for Puerto Rico as he denied and failed to acknowledge Maria's death toll – nearly 3,000 people in the US territory – making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the US in 100 years. Trump also drew attention for making disparaging comments about Puerto Rico after Maria, including “they want everything done for them,” and for throwing paper towels during a visit to the island after the deadly hurricane.

During his presidency, Congress appropriated a total of $20 billion in federal housing funds for Puerto Rico's post-hurricane reconstruction, a historic amount. But the Trump administration has denied Puerto Rico receipt of 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's 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 the creation of a task force that would focus on the island's specific needs, including addressing the deteriorating power grid and improving public-private partnerships.

Harris also pointed to the support she has received from Puerto Rican celebrities who say they reflect the voices of those who “want a president who is about uplifting the people, not about uplifting America.” insulting people and calling them 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 alongside comments about the “floating island of trash.”

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

Battleground Pennsylvania, where election results show a razor-thin race, is home to the third-largest Puerto Rican diaspora in the country.

More than half of the nearly 580,000 eligible Latino voters in Pennsylvania are of Puerto Rican descent. Considering the last presidential election in the state was decided by fewer than 81,000 votes, according to UCLA's Latino Policy & Politics Institute, Puerto Rican voters could be “decisive” if they turn out this year as voter turnout dips in low in the US was a thing of the past, according to the institute.

The Pennsylvania Republican Party is a leader in engaging Latino and Puerto Rican voters in the state. The organization did not respond to an email asking whether Hinchcliffe's comments had any impact on its voter mobilization efforts.

Several members of the Republican Party who have vocally supported 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 The island's pro-state party's gubernatorial candidate criticized the racist remarks while attempting to argue that the remarks “do not reflect the values ​​of the Republican Party.”