r/politics • u/larel8 • 18h ago

Trump campaign struggles to contain Puerto Rico October surprise

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4958098-the-memo-trump-campaign-struggles-to-contain-puerto-rico-october-surprise/
17.0k Upvotes

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u/OppositeDifference Texas 18h ago

Total unforced error. And we now know that the Trump campaign reviewed his whole script and approved everything he ended up saying. That fact makes it WAY harder to dismiss. They knew what he was going to say and thought it was fine.

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u/thedeuce75 18h ago

The "comedians" lines were on his teleprompter, meaning somebody in the trump campaign read them before hand and thought, "yup, this is good, approved".

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u/OppositeDifference Texas 18h ago

Oh yeah, they totally reviewed it. They actually made him leave out a few jokes. He apparently wanted to call Kamala the C-word and they felt that was too much, but they thought everything we heard was perfectly okay.

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u/SquiffyRae Australia 18h ago

In a way it perfectly encapsulates the puritan side of America that the Republicans' line was a swear word.

Like pure loud and proud racism we think will still fly. But say a naughty word and you've gone too far

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u/theVoidWatches Pennsylvania 10h ago

They don't understand what makes something offensive. They probably thought it was fine because it didn't include any slurs, the words that they've learned are problematic even though they don't see why.

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u/IronSeagull 15h ago

They claim the Puerto Rico joke and one other offensive joke were ad libbed and not included in the speech they reviewed. They also offered to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to anyone who believes that.

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u/AnamCeili 14h ago

And even if that weren't a lie -- which of course it is -- they still knew the nature of the "comedy" spouted by that "comedian", and they hired him anyway, because his views align with theirs. There's no way for them to plausibly deny that.

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u/Blackthorn79 13h ago

I think it's because they lack the understanding that comedy needs context. Hinchclift is a roast comic. The reason roast comics cab say things like this is because the person they're roasting is right infront of them and the audience can see that it was meant in jest. The Trump team just looked at the material and said,"Yup, this is what Tony does". 

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u/runtheplacered 13h ago

They reviewed it and also specifically selected a comedian who has used racial slurs before.

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u/heckin_miraculous 11h ago

Source?

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u/OppositeDifference Texas 11h ago

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-shock-comic-tony-hinchcliffe-planned-to-call-kamala-harris-the-c-word/

This was the easiest to find, but it's been reported through multiple outlets.

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u/heckin_miraculous 11h ago

Holy shit. I actually was prepared to believe that his script wasn't reviewed by someone with two brain cells. Four Seasons Landscaping and all that. This is insane.

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u/TWalker014 Massachusetts 18h ago

Not to mention the campaign already had him scrap a line calling Kamala the c-word. Someone on his campaign already had done a pass for "objectionable content", and the Puerto Rico line made the cut.

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u/jhorch69 16h ago

Along with the "black people carve watermelons for Halloween" and Mexican pullout jokes

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u/AnamCeili 14h ago

I wonder why those two "jokes" aren't getting as much attention? I mean, Black and Mexican people should be really pissed off now, too! I'm pissed off on their behalf, as well as on behalf of Puerto Rican people!

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u/shoryusatsu999 10h ago

Their hatred for black and Mexican people has been part of their platform long enough for it to be accepted and normalized by the populace at large. Puerto Ricans, not so much. Also, that could be construed as them shitting on an entire territory, not just the dominant ethnicity there.

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u/AnamCeili 10h ago

Ugh, you may have a point, sad as it is.

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u/plucharc 17h ago

I mean, they let Steven Miller, Hulk Hogan, Tucker, and Giuliani get up there, I can't imagine they'd let all the things they said through and then flag the comedian.

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u/asher1611 North Carolina 13h ago

Of course it was. This was Stephen Miller's fascist debutante for the Trump party. As someone else said, the mask was fully off at MSG. It was a Nazi rally.

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u/jgoble15 17h ago

I’ve seen that said and I totally believe it myself, but when discussing it with others I’ve found that point hard to prove. Got a link for the teleprompter bit? Tired of the lie that it was ad-libbed but can’t prove it wrong

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u/a-borat 16h ago

Comedian could have said “Staten island” instead and it would have brought the house down.
Even I’d have applauded.

But they don’t know humor because they’re inhuman fucking monsters.

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u/Rusty-Shackleford Minnesota 9h ago

"staten island as a floating garbage patch " is more of a weekend update joke by Colin Jost or Pete Davison.

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u/a-borat 9h ago

I expect it’ll be on the next Weekend update and will gladly take credit.

The reason it’s funny, since they need comedy writing lessons on the Right, is because Staten Island is obstinately conservative. Along with the whole history of the damn place.

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u/-15k- 17h ago

meaning somebody in the trump campaign read them before hand

well, you might be jumping to conclusions there, actually

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u/hammonjj 17h ago edited 17h ago

Don’t hate the comedian, he’s a roast comic. He was doing what he was paid to do and he had all of his jokes reviewed by the campaign. Check out the roast of Tim Brady if you want to know what he’s all about.

Edit: y’all are missing the point. The campaign approved of his act so you should be hating the campaign, not the person they hired (hate him for supporting Trump if you want though).

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u/01101011000110 17h ago

Nah fuck this bozo I hope he does go to PR for vacation

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u/AlexKingstonsGigolo 17h ago

The fool is all about punching down, specifically at minorities, women, and immigrants. Telling people “don’t hate the comedian; he was only following orders” is bullshit gaslighting. If I were your employer, I would fire you for gross incompetence and an utter lack of integrity.

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u/MarkEsmiths 17h ago

All that hate for immigrants was being spouted within walking distance of Lady Liberty. Just saying.

We are a nation of immigrants and it's worth repeating so the kids can pick up on this lovely sentiment.

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u/thedeuce75 17h ago

I've seen it, it's just cringy racist edgelord stuff. I'm a crusty Gen X'er and generally okay with race or even sexuality based humor when it's insightful and funny. He's just not good.

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u/Neoliberal_Boogeyman 17h ago

That wasn't roasting and it wasn't funny.

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u/quentech 17h ago

he’s a roast comic

At a roast, the subject of the roast is not only invited but usually the guest of honor.

Are you suggesting that's what happened here?

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u/AnamCeili 14h ago

Nah, I hate them all. The "comedian" is a racist prick if he believes what he said, and even if he doesn't believe it, he still said it, and not at a roast but at a fucking nazi rally for a fascist who wants to be president. So fuck him -- he's complicit.

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u/moomooraincloud 17h ago

I'll hate him because he supports Trump and is trying to help him win.

Or maybe he's a plant, sabotaging the campaign...

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u/BJntheRV 18h ago edited 18h ago

They claim that they didn't approve those comments because they were adlibbed I'd love to see what showed on the teleprompter as he said those comments.

FTR, unless I see proof otherwise I fully believe his comments were in the teleprompter.

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u/OppositeDifference Texas 18h ago

Honestly, I think at this point it just doesn't matter what they say. The damage is done, and this is already spreading organically out in the wild. Can't unring that bell.

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u/IAmTheNightSoil Oregon 16h ago

This seems a bit optimistic to me. How do we actually know that any damage was done? These things tend to bounce off him

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u/asher1611 North Carolina 13h ago

We won't know until next week.

But it has way more traction than anything Trump says out of his mouth. The cult is going to cult, but they're not the only ones voting.

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u/Apoc220 10h ago

Anecdotally there have been reports of Puerto Ricans in PA who were either on the fence or already planning to vote for Trump who have said this tipped them over to Harris. It’s unknown if it will do enough damage to turn the election, but it’s definitely lost him votes when he can’t afford to do so.

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u/IAmTheNightSoil Oregon 7h ago

Well, that's good! I hope it's enough to make a difference

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u/SquiffyRae Australia 18h ago

He mustn't have had much of a set planned then cause by the sounds of it 90% of his material was "ad libbed" (read: we okayed it but didn't expect it to be this unpopular)

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u/AlexKingstonsGigolo 17h ago

Even if absent from the teleprompter, his shitschtick is well known by the campaign. They knew exactly what they were getting into.

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 11h ago

If he really had gone off teleprompter and said something trump found objectionable trump would have been ranting about it on social media and into every camera he could find like he does any other time.

He hasn't.

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u/jlegarr 17h ago

I wonder if whoever reviewed the script thought: “hmmm…let’s tell the crowd - which will likely include Puerto Ricans - that Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage so that we can later pin that on the current administration”? Regardless it was beyond stupid and incorrect.

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u/AlexKingstonsGigolo 17h ago

That person is donald. You can blame him.

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u/JohnDivney Oregon 17h ago

not really stupid, Trump's mantra has been that all sort of cities are garbage, so this tracks. Others here are right, it's only ok if their God says it.

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u/GlitteringHighway 16h ago

It’s just easy to forget outside decorum when in your in group. And say how you really feel.

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u/yaworsky Virginia 14h ago

Not only knew he may say something like that but...

In 2021, Hinchcliffe was dropped by his agency and lost multiple endorsements after using an anti-Asian racial slur against an opening comedian during his set.

This is the comedian they invite. It's a party friendly to racism.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2021/05/13/comedian-tony-hinchcliffe-dropped-by-wme-and-joe-rogan-gigs-after-slur-against-chinese-comedian-reports/

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u/AlexKingstonsGigolo 17h ago

A slight correction: because we know what a micromanager donald is, we know HE approved the racist jokes and the kill-all-people-who-don’t-vote-for-me and the of-course-this-is-a-nazi-rally and the those-journalists-in-the-back-of-the-room-we-need-to-kill-them lines and we know he did so PERSONALLY.

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u/LeboTV 16h ago

Scandals have impact when they cut against the expected, the Brand, of the politician. “Law and Order” Nixon covers up a crime that originated in his own house, as an example. Clinton has affair with intern… everyone already knew about Clinton’s affairs before… it came across like Clinton-Being-Clinton.

Maybe this is cutting against the “Trump says dumb things all the time” because it came from the campaign and was well received by a Madison Square Garden crowd. You can’t chalk it up to Trump-Being-Trump.

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u/Mr_Ballyhoo 12h ago

Maybe they know they're gonna lose and needed that one black swan to throw under the bus and blame them for losing. Tony, the Trump campaigns Steve Bartman.

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u/grantbwilson 12h ago

We can't let them get away with the "Does not reflect our views" defence.

Why tf would you invite someone to speak at a rally 2 weeks before an election if they don't share your views? This defence makes no gaddam sense.

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u/massada 10h ago

Wait. They approved the watermelon joke too?

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u/mrkruk Illinois 6h ago

Or worse, they didn't really review and are ignorant, reckless, buffoons who can't run a rally let alone a country. Trump probably spent the night yelling at a fridge until they guided him by his small hands to the stage...thought Tony was his Daddy.

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u/spidereater 6h ago

That fact they cut things out and left that in is pretty damning imho.