(Guest Contributor: K-von)
In about a week, you might ask yourself, “Who the h*ll allowed Tony Hinchcliffe to take the mic at Madison Square Garden?”
Many attending Trump’s Big Apple rally Sunday didn’t know who he was. Now, patriots across the country are being linked to his specific brand of humor.
I’ve known Hinchcliffe for years, and while his material may be perfect for rough and tumble, UFC-loving Joe Rogan crowds, he was in an entirely different dojo Sunday.
.@TonyHinchcliffe: “The other side has a lot of crazy endorsements: Swift, Eminem, Leo DiCaprio, Beyonce. Every day, the Democratic Party looks more and more like a P Diddy party.”
“Hillary Clinton said this a Nazi rally today. The most anti-war President of my lifetime, and she… pic.twitter.com/eZV2PnLoBC
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) October 27, 2024
Starting out as a doorman and parking cars at the Comedy Store club in Hollywood, Hinchcliffe spent the last two decades interacting with the current who’s-who of comedians. By hanging out late at night and sharing smokes, he was able to leverage those relationships into Comedy Central appearances, a Netflix special and podcasts.
The “Kill Tony” host previously survived a failed cancellation attempt after cursing out an Asian comedian.
Surely, he feels invincible, able to say whatever he wants whenever he wants – “…And if you don’t like it, then you just don’t get jokes, bro.”
Undoubtedly, there is a market for Hinchcliffe’s type of comedy. The numbers don’t lie. He recently sold out two nights at Madison Square Garden. He felt right at home when he got the nod to appear at the MSG Trump rally.
The only problem? It might have been the same venue, but it was an entirely different occasion.
In a campaign where so much is on the line (and one man clearly deserves to win after being maligned, attacked and even shot at), Hinchcliffe handed the Harris campaign a gift.
We are not in the position to give last-minute gifts to the radical left.
At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, podcast host and comedian Kill Tony referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” during his set.
Notably, four percent of Pennsylvanians are Puerto Rican.
Around 500,000 people. pic.twitter.com/txE3UD0QVE
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 27, 2024
Some of Hinchcliffe’s gems got little to no reaction from the crowd. Yet the whole rally is being smeared by AOC, Kamala Harris, Don Lemon, J-Lo, Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin and the mainstream media.
“See, we told you they’re all racist!” they cried in near-unison.
I get the whole “free speech is important” argument. I cherish it and rely on it myself.
Just because you can legally say something doesn’t mean you should. I have no problem saying his jokes and comments have zero to do with how we feel or Trump’s campaign. And that is the type of damage control the Trump campaign and GOP find themselves doing.
If Hinchcliffe kept his message tight, succinct and uplifting with an occasional zinger or two, it would have been right on target. Had he appealed to an all-ages crowd; he would have been just fine. But Hinchcliffe may not have that comedy IQ or skill set.
Consider these standard, open-mic barbs from his performance:
- Latinos make babies because they don’t pull out
- There’s a floating pile of trash in the ocean; Puerto Rico
- Hillary Clinton knows all about how Bill Clinton shoots interns
- …and a handful of others
Yes, the things he said were clearly jokes. Jokes that the radical Left gets to cease upon and tie to Trump (and
his supporters) like an anchor.
Time and place are important. That kind of comedy does not belong on a presidential campaign stage. Trump’s campaign advisors have now come out and said, “These jokes don’t reflect the views of President Trump or the Republican Party.”
And that’s precisely why Hinchcliffe shouldn’t have been invited at this event in the first place.
At the end of the day, this appearance will serve Hinchcliffe well. More press, more controversy, more ticket sales. Ka-Ching! The one person it will not serve?
Trump.
Hinchcliffe failed at doing the one job he was hired for that day… getting Trump re-elected.
K-von is a veteran stand-up comedian, author and actor. You can follow him on YouTube, X and Instagram.
