US election live: Republican campaign says Tony Hinchcliffe’s Puerto Rico joke ‘does not reflect Trump’s views’

Donald Trump’s campaign has moved to distance the presidential hopeful from racist insults aimed at Puerto Ricans amid a backlash over remarks at a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night.

“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe, a stand-up comic told the Republican event. His set also included lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews and Black people, all key constituencies in the election just nine days away.

His joke was immediately criticised by Kamala Harris’ campaign. Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny backed Harris shortly after Hinchcliffe’s appearance.

The normally pugnacious Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

Angel Cintron, the head of the GOP on the island, and US representative Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents parts of Miami and has participated in recent Trump events, were among Republicans to criticise Hinchcliffe’s comments.

Luis Fonsi, a Puerto Rican artist who sings the hit “Despacito,” went on Instagram and wrote “going down this racist path ain’t it.”

“We are not OK with this constant hate,” he wrote in a message shared on Instagram. “It’s been abundantly clear that these people have no respect for us.”

The singer Ricky Martin, who had previously endorsed Harris, was also offended by the comment and said “that’s what they think of us,” on Instagram.