Tony Hinchcliffe Refuses To Apologize For Trump Event Gig, But Says Madison Square Garden Rally May Not Have Been “Best F—ing Place” To Do Set

Since Donald Trump won the presidential election, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe has been gloating a bit on social media over the fact that his Madison Square Garden performance was not the disaster for the campaign that many predicted.

He’s also not apologizing for his set at the October 27 Trump rally, in which he called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and made other racist jokes. Trump and his campaign tried to distance themselves from Hinchcliffe’s performance afterward.

More from Deadline

The latest Kill Tony podcast, recorded the night after the MSG event, showed that while he refused to back away from his remarks, he acknowledged that the set may not have been the right venue. He also seemed to equate criticism of what he said to an attack on his free speech.

“It was a speech about free speech, believe it or not, and with that said, I just want to say that I love Puerto Ricans. They’re very smart people. They’re smart, they’re street smart, and they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder, and right now, that is happening.”

Democrats pounced on Hinchcliffe’s remarks at the Trump rally, but he also was criticized by Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

“I apologize to absolutely nobody — not to the Puerto Ricans, not to the whites, not to the Blacks, not the Palestinians, not to the Jews, and not to my own mother, who I made fun of during the set,” he said.

Hinchcliffe said that “perhaps that venue at that time wasn’t the best f*cking place to do this set,” and then said, “To the mainstream media and to everybody trying to slander me online, that’s what I do. I got hard and that’s never going to change.”

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.