‘We have to stop feeling so offended’

Sen. J.D. Vance said Monday that even though he didn’t hear a comedian’s racist jokes the night before at his running mate’s rally in New York City, he thinks Americans should “stop getting so offended.”

“I’m just — I’m so over it,” Vance said after an NBC News reporter asked about inflammatory comments about Latinos and others by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, the first speaker at former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. .

“I’ve heard about the joke, I haven’t actually seen the joke you mentioned, but I think it’s telling that Kamala Harris’ closing message is basically that all of Donald Trump’s voters are Nazis, and you would be really angry should be. about a comedian telling a joke,” Vance said.

Vance doubled down when asked again about the racist comedy that unfolded after his speech Monday night in the southeastern Wisconsin city of Racine.

“A comedian told a joke, and I don’t think that’s news worth making,” Vance told a local reporter.

“Maybe I’m old-fashioned, or maybe I just grew up with a grandmother who had a particularly dirty mouth. But you know what I do? You know what I do when I think a joke is stupid or not funny? I’m not laughing,” Vance continued.

Ultimately, Vance added, he is “not concerned that a joke told by a comedian unaffiliated with Donald Trump’s campaign” will have an effect on Trump’s chances of winning next week’s election.

Harris said Monday that Trump’s rally was “focused and fixated on the grievances against himself and on the divisions of the country.” She didn’t say Trump voters are Nazis.

One of Hinchcliffe’s jokes that sparked outrage from both sides was his comment that “there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

There is a large Puerto Rican presence in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, and Trump’s campaign sought to distance itself from the comedian’s comments.

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

However, Vance suggested it was just a distraction.

“My own opinion on this is, look, again, I didn’t see the joke. You know, maybe it’s a stupid, racist joke like you said, maybe it’s not. I didn’t see it. I’m not going to comment on the details of the joke,” he said.

“I think a lot of Americans are tired of the distractions and the BS. They want our candidates to talk about how they’re going to solve people’s problems, and that’s what we should be doing,” he said.

Vance added that he had recently heard from someone who was offended by a joke that comedian George Lopez told at a Harris rally, and that he told him, “Can we all just take a chill pill and joking? time? This is ridiculous.”

“We’re not going to – we’re not going to restore the greatness of American civilization if we’re offended by every little thing. Let’s have a sense of humor, have a little fun and go win in eight days,” Vance said.

Top Trump ally Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took a different tack Monday, tweeting that “Puerto Rico is not trash, it is home to fellow American citizens who have made tremendous contributions to our country.”

“I understand why some people were offended by a comedian’s jokes last night. But those were not Trump’s words,” Rubio added.

Hinchcliffe’s routine, which included other racist jokes about Latinos and black Americans, came just days after Trump said the US is “like a garbage can” during comments on immigration.

Marc Anthony, a Grammy-winning singer of Puerto Rican descent who has endorsed Harris, took to social media Monday to criticize Trump’s treatment of the island while he was president.

“I remember what he did and said, about Puerto Rico, about our people. I remember after Hurricane Maria devastated our island, Trump blocked billions in aid while thousands died. I remember when our families didn’t have clean water and electricity, Trump threw paper towels and called Puerto Rico ‘dirty’ and ‘poor,’” Anthony said, adding that’s why he supports Harris.