“Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted former President Donald Trump’s packed event in Madison Square Garden as a “mini-Jan. 6 rally.”
“This was a hate rally,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “This was not just a presidential rally. This was also not just a campaign rally.”
“I think it’s very important for people to understand that these are mini-Jan. 6 rallies. These are mini-‘Stop the Steal’ rallies,” she added, referencing Trump’s organized protest with his supporters against the 2020 presidential election results.
“These are rallies to prime an electorate into rejecting the results of an election if it doesn’t go the way that they want,” the Bronx Democrat claimed.
Much of the outrage focused on comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s crude jokes about Hispanics and Puerto Rico — the latter of which earned swift denunciations from Republicans.
“There’s a lot going on. There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe mocked.
“This is not a joke. It’s completely classless & in poor taste,” responded Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.).
“Puerto Rico is the crown jewel of the Caribbean & home to many of the most patriotic Americans I know,” he said on X. “@TonyHinchcliffe clearly isn’t funny & definitely doesn’t reflect my values or those of the Republican Party.”
Ocasio-Cortez accused Trump and his allies of trying to hide behind Hinchcliffe’s attempt at humor.
“The campaign is scrambling, and they’re trying to blame this rhetoric on a so-called comedian,” she went on. “This is not a comedian. This is the Trump campaign.”
“They invited this rhetoric on their stage for a reason. It was a chorus of speakers on that campaign for a reason. It was vetted, and they knew exactly who was going to say what before they went on,” she claimed.
“And so the only backtracking that they’re doing right now is just because tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans happen to live in Philadelphia, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, and they and also the several swing seats … in the House of Representatives that run through the state of New York,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
