'Don't even know who put him in': Trump denies responsibility after comedian’s racist joke
Former President Donald Trump appeared Tuesday night on Fox News with host Sean Hannity and denied responsibility for a comedian's racist attack on Puerto Rico at his rally in Madison Square Garden over the weekend.
"What they've done is taken somebody that has nothing to do with the party, nothing to do with us, said something and they're trying to make a big deal," said Trump. "But I don't know who it is, I don't even know who put him in. And I can't imagine it's a big deal."
The event faced intense backlash after Tony Hinchcliffe, a Texas-based comedian who took the stage before Trump, joked that the territory of Puerto Rico is "a floating island of garbage."
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The remark sent Trump's GOP allies scrambling, as Puerto Ricans have large voting populations in several key swing states including Pennsylvania.
The Trump campaign has denied any knowledge of the joke before putting him in the lineup. Reports later emerged that the campaign blocked Hinchcliffe from telling another joke that used a sexist slur for Vice President Kamala Harris, suggesting they reviewed the material and left in the Puerto Rico joke.
All of this comes as Americans cast ballots early, and both campaigns deliver their final pitch to voters in the week ahead of Election Day.
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