Trump in Denial Over Disastrous Latino-Bashing MSG Rally

Donald Trump insists his Latino-trashing rally in New York—which sparked widespread outrage, even among Republicans—went “great” and was “filled up.”

“Last night, we had a great rally at Madison Square Garden,” Trump told faith leaders Monday in Powder Springs, Georgia, where one attendee praised the GOP presidential nominee for turning the venue into “MAGA Square Garden.”

At another campaign event in Atlanta, seemingly oblivious that he may have alienated a crucial voting bloc to his electoral success, Trump bragged about the crowd size at his Sunday rally at the Garden.

“We’ve had the greatest rallies in the history of the world, not just of this country,” he said. “There’s never been—I mean, we filled up Madison Square Garden last night. We could have filled it up ten times."

His running mate, JD Vance, also defended the MSG rally and its supposed humor. He said he wished Americans wouldn‘t “get so offended at every little thing.”

“I’m just, I’m so over it,” the GOP vice presidential candidate said.

But outside the Trump-Vance bubble, the furor sparked by Trump’s Sunday rally at the Garden “spread like wildfire” in Pennsylvania, the crucial swing state that is home to roughly 600,000 Latino voters, the vast majority of whom are Puerto Rican.

The GOP candidate’s chosen comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and joked that Latinos produce many children because “there’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.”

Less than 24 hours later, Christian leaders prayed over and laid hands on Trump.

Meanwhile, some of Trump’s top GOP allies in Congress have spoken out, including Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York, who invoked his mother.

While Trump ignored the mess, his campaign spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, was left to play cleanup on NewsNation Monday, conceding the joke was in “poor taste.”

Her turn at the mop followed her colleague, Danielle Alvarez, who said in a statement, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Other Republican members of Congress who lashed out at Hinchfliffe include Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Carlos Giminez, both of Florida. Scott said the joke “bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true.” Giminez was similarly outraged and immediately defended the island.

The MSG controversy comes one week before Election Day in a razor-thin race that could break either way. And Democrats are seizing on the Madison Square Garden controversy to shore up support from Latino Americans—a crucial voting bloc in all seven battleground states where the election will be decided.

Harris said the MSG rally was nothing new, but “maybe more vivid than usual.” She said Trump “fans the fuel of hate and division, and that’s why people are exhausted with him.”