Trump says his New York rally marked by crude and racist insults ‘was like a lovefest’

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and MICHELLE L. PRICE The Associated Press

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Julia Demaree Nikhinson]

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump on Tuesday called his rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden, an event marked by crude and racist insults by several speakers, a “lovefest.”

That’s a term the former president also has used to reference the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump noted that “there’s never been an event so beautiful” as his Sunday night rally in his hometown of New York City. That’s despite criticism from Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and many who watched — including Republicans — about racist comments made targeting Latinos, Black people, Jews and Palestinians, along with sexist insults directed at Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s set, in which he joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage,” stirred particular anger given the electoral importance of Puerto Ricans who live in Pennsylvania and other key swing states. The Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico but not other comments.