Donald Trump’s allies were reportedly left scrambling after “fried comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe overshadowed the candidate’s national campaign moment by making derogatory jokes about Latinos and Black people at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

But even as Republicans condemned Hinchcliffe’s jokes, which they feared would offend highly popular Latino and Black voters, a new report said Hinchcliffe’s routine could have been much worse.

The comic also planned a joke about Kamala Harris, which could potentially be a serious turn-off for many women, regardless of their political leanings. A campaign source told The Bulwark writer Marc Caputo that Hinchcliffe was “joking” by calling the vice president a rude word for the female anatomy.

“Let’s just say it was a red flag,” the source told Caputo, who spoke to four campaign insiders for his report shared in a newsletter Monday.

Among the remaining jokes in Hinchcliffe’s 11-minute set were cracks about a black man cutting a watermelon for Halloween, a description of Latinos as mindless planters, and a reference to Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage, The Bulwark and According to Rolling Stone.

The ensuing online backlash sparked questions about how such offensive speech was allowed at such a high-profile rally designed to give Trump a chance to deliver a final, inspirational campaign message in a very tight race for the White House.

Eboni Boykin-Patterson, entertainment reporter for the Daily Beast in question The Trump campaign had to know what the Trump-aligned Hinchcliffe was getting because the controversial host of the “Kill Tony” podcast has long been known for using racist jokes in his comedy.

Campaign staff told Caputo that they asked all speakers to send drafts of their speeches before they were uploaded to the teleprompter, sources told Caputo. When the objectionable joke about Harris was noticed, a staff member asked Hinchcliffe to make the joke. Because Hinchcliffe complied, questions arose about whether staff allowed his other pranks.

But sources insisted to Caputo that they did not notice the other objectionable lines in Hinchcliffe’s speech before he said them, because they were improvised.

Rolling Stone said laughing next to Hinchcliffe’s “blatant display of racism” in a 19,500-seat arena was “a disastrous sight”.

The backlash was almost immediate, with the pro-Trump comedian’s comments going viral. Rolling Stone said Latino Republicans and other associates of Trump were texting frantically, calling up aides and longtime advisers of the former president, insisting that he or his campaign immediately condemn Hinchcliffe’s jokes.

Caputo wrote that the Trump campaign eventually took the rare step of distancing itself from one of the speakers. But Caputo said this was to distinguish himself from the “trash” joke about Puerto Rico, not from other jokes.

“This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” said Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser to Trump.

But according to Rolling Stone, the political damage had already been done.

According to Rolling Stone, two Republicans from Florida felt compelled to make a statement. U.S. Senator Rick Scott, who is running for re-election against Democratic rival Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in X, condemned Hinchcliffe’s set. “This joke bombed for a reason. It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are wonderful people and wonderful Americans! I have been to the island many times. It’s a very beautiful place. Everyone should visit! “I will always do whatever I can to help Puerto Ricans in Florida or on the island.”

Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) also wrote in X that she was “disgusted” by Hinchcliffe’s comments and claimed his “rhetoric does not reflect GOP values.”

Outside Trump’s orbit, The View is hosted by Sonny Hostin He made a harsh statement against Trump “This Puerto Rican has something to say about the island I love, where my family is from,” he said on the show. Is Puerto Rico garbage? We are Americans, Donald Trump.”

While Hostin noted that Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony and other Puerto Rican celebrities have a total of 345 million followers on Instagram, he reminded Trump that “because you care so much about size, he only has 26 million followers.”

Hostin warned Trump that Puerto Ricans know how to “take out the trash.” “My fellow Puerto Ricans, garbage collection day is November 5, 2024. Remember this,” he said.