What should we make of the Trump rally held at Madison Square Garden last Sunday? Tony Hinchcliffe, a comedian hired by the Trump campaign, opened with a slur against Puerto Ricans. Hinchcliffe, who goes by the name of Kill Tony, told the crowd: “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
It has now been revealed that Hinchcliffe planned a second “joke” in which he called Kamala Harris a name that is obscene and misogynistic. The “joke” was cancelled when Trump aides saw it as it was being loaded onto a teleprompter. (If you want to know what the slur was, you will have to look it up yourself on Google.)
Another speaker, business man Grant Cardone, implied that Harris is a prostitute. He told the gathering, “Her pimp handlers will destroy our country.” Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan slandered Harris with a subtle joke about Harris engaging in a sex practice. Harris was also called “the anti-Christ” and “the devil” by a childhood friend of Trump’s, David Rem.
Trump aide Stephen Miller, who is expected to play a major role in a second Trump term, told the crowd, “America is for Americans and Americans only,” echoing Adolf Hitler, who told Germans, “Germany is for Germans and Germans only.”
These comments are only a sample of the hate and vulgarity showcased at the event. Some will say it is nothing new and dismiss it as campaign rhetoric. J.D. Vance commented after the event that Americans should “stop getting offended by every little thing in the United States of America, I’m just so over it.”
What is remarkable about the racist, misogynistic, and obscene comments made at the rally is that Trump and other speakers who followed Hinchcliffe did not condemn or comment.
In events after the Madison Square Garden debacle, Trump had an opportunity to condemn the rhetoric. He did not. That suggests that Trump is comfortable with the comments. His campaign only disavowed Hinchcliffe’s comments after the news media highlighted how offensive the Puerto Rico comment was and speculated it may cost Trump votes.
Will the hate-filled event cost Trump the election? One can hope, but Trump may win the election because of the slurs and racism. The slurs–the ones on immigrants, Harris, and the Democrats—appear to have been intentional. Trump believes he has figured out that, with his encouragement, Americans will vote to keep immigrants out of America and vote for him.
I can imagine a headline that I hope not to write on November 6 (or whenever the election outcome is finally established): “Racism won Trump the White House, regardless of what you call it.” A subtitle could be, “White Supremacy triumphs.”
The New York rally is not the only news this week. There was also Jeff Bezos’ decision for his newspaper, The Washington Post, not to endorse a candidate. Bezos now claims that he was unaware that the Blue Origin CEO and another executive met with Trump the day the Post announced its decision. Blue Origin has a billion-dollar contract to land astronauts on the moon. Bezos’ explanation rings false. In an editorial in the Post, Bezos also claims that there was no quid pro quo with Trump.
The crack Trump legal team is also already preparing legal challenges to challenge the 2024 vote. Sources say the legal challenges will be “better organized” than the failed 2020 efforts that resulted in defeats in all but one court case.
Finally, Trump wore a black and yellow MAGA cap and black suit with a yellow tie last week at two events. Black and yellow are the colors of the Proud Boys, a group that considered themselves “Trump’s Army” and played a major role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Coincidence?
This is my last column before election day, next Tuesday. No one who reads my columns will be surprised to know that I will vote for Harris. If you have not already voted, let me tell you why.
Trump proposes a mass deportation of “illegals” reminiscent of the Nazis. If Trump follows through on his promise, he will create “deportation camps” to hold “illegals” pending deportation. I am against concentration camps.
Trump is a racist based on his rhetoric. He calls migrants “animals” and worse.
Trump’s tariff proposal is nonsense, condemned by virtually all economists.
Trump denies climate change, an existential issue for the Eastern Shore. He calls it “a hoax” and “a scam.”
Trump is considered unfit by dozens of former Trump cabinet officers, military leaders, and political appointees. These people saw Trump in action. I believe them when they say Trump is a fascist who is incompetent.
Trump has promised “retribution” against his political and legal opponents, promising jail, commitment to insane asylums, revocation of licenses, and, in one case, execution.
Trump calls the January 6 insurrection “a day of love” and has promised to pardon January 6 insurrectionists. I watched the January 6 riot live. It was not a “day of love.” Incidentally, Trump also called the Madison Square Garden rally “a lovefest.”
Trump is a serial sexual offender. Just last week, another woman came forward to disclose that Trump groped her in Trump Tower as Jeffrey Epstein watched.
Trump took top-secret federal documents when he left the White House, failed to secure them while in his custody, and shared them with people with no security clearances.
Trump, Bob Woodward reports in his new book, War, has spoken to Vladimir Putin seven times since leaving the White House. I suspect the conversations touched on the war in Ukraine and Trump’s promise to end the conflict.
Trump cheated on his taxes, as evidenced in New York Times reporting.
Trump regularly engaged in business fraud, best exemplified by the 34 felony convictions in New York.
Trump shows signs of severe mental deterioration. Disagree? Watch a video of one of his rallies.
Kamala Harris promotes democracy. She believes in climate change, helping the middle-class, and hiring qualified professionals in their fields. She supports NATO and has collaborated with President Biden to restore the credibility with its allies that the U.S. lost during the Trump administration. She also has committed to seeing that the bipartisan border bill, that Trump put the kibosh on, will pass. Harris also supports women’s reproductive rights.
And one final reason I will vote for Harris: If Trump wins, J.D. Vance will be president before the 2028 election. Vance is every bit as unqualified to be president as the 78-year-old Trump, albeit for different reasons going well beyond his cat-ladies comment.
As I finish writing this piece, Kamala Harris is making a closing argument for her election on the Ellipse before more than 60,000 supporters. Harris’ coherent, positive, and civil speech contrasted her plans for the presidency with Trump’s. She told the crowd, “On day one Donald Trump will walk in with an enemies list; I will walk in with a to-do list.”
Compare this event with the hate-fest at Madison Square Garden. Watch both videos on YouTube. Then choose between chaos and democracy.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
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