JD Vance Says He’s ‘So Over’ Being Offended By Racist Jokes

U.S. News

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Monday that he hadn’t heard the offensive remark about Puerto Rico a comedian made at former President Donald Trump’s rally on Sunday, but he said even if was a “stupid racist joke,” he was “so over” people getting offended at “every little thing.”

Trump’s presidential campaign is facing outrage after far-right comedian Tony Hinchcliffe opened the rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden with an offensive set that veered into racist tropes about Latinos and Jews. At one point, Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean” and joked that Black people carved watermelons instead of pumpkins on Halloween.

The remarks drew fierce criticism from Puerto Rican megastars such as Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin and condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including many Republicans in Florida. The Trump campaign distanced itself from Hinchcliffe’s remarks within hours of the set, saying the joke did not “reflect the views” of the former president.

Vance, Trump’s running mate, responded to several questions on the campaign trail Monday about whether the campaign was worried how the remarks would go over with voters as some are casting early ballots now while others prepare to go to the polls next week.

“I’ve heard about the joke; I haven’t actually seen the joke,” Vance said at a rally in Wisconsin. “I think that it’s telling that Kamala Harris’ closing message is essentially that all of Donald Trump’s voters are Nazis and you should get really pissed off about a comedian telling a joke.”

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Vance: I have heard about the joke… Maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke.. Maybe it is not. But we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing can a United States of America. I’m so over it pic.twitter.com/I93s68plT8

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 28, 2024

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Vance: I have heard about the joke… Maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke.. Maybe it is not. But we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing can a United States of America. I’m so over it pic.twitter.com/I93s68plT8

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 28, 2024

“My own view on this is — look, again, I haven’t seen the joke — maybe it’s a stupid racist joke, as you’ve said, maybe it’s not. I haven’t seen it,” he went on. “I’m not going to comment on the specifics of the joke, But I think we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America. I’m so over it. “

He told a reporter earlier in the day that he wasn’t worried about a remark from a comedian “who has no affiliation with Donald Trump’s campaign.”

“We’re going to look past the fact that we can’t afford groceries because somebody made a joke that we don’t like,’ Vance added.

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There are signs of concern about how the remark might affect the votes of the many Puerto Ricans living in swing states, particularly in a presidential race that polls indicate is essentially tied. Politico reported Monday that a nonpartisan Puerto Rican group had drafted a letter urging members to oppose Trump, and a prominent archbishop in San Juan has demanded an apology from Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has seized on the Madison Square Garden event as further evidence of Trump’s tactics of anger and division, warning a second presidency would only embolden him. Harris released an ad featuring Hinchcliffe’s remarks on Monday, with plans to air it in swing states until Election Day.

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