Former President Donald Trump raises his first during CPAC earlier this year. Credit: Shutterstock / Jonah Elkowitz

San Antonio politicians a sounding alarm bells over former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday, during which comedian Tony Hinchcliff made hate-filled comments about Latinos.

Hinchcliffe, who also goes by Kill Tony, was among the speakers at the more than six-hour-rally that featured a slew of right-wing extremists. After taking the stage, Hinchcliffe wasted no time attacking minorities, specifically Latinos, during his nearly 10-minute routine.

“And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country,” Hinchcliffe said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

Hinchcliffe also laid into Puerto Rico, which he described as a “floating island of garbage,” and made a joke about “carving watermelons” with a black man in the crowd.

Hinchcliffe’s remarks drew scorn from San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg.

“Who the hell is Trump’s campaign for at this point?” Nirenberg wrote on social media platform X, sharing a clip of Hinchcliffe’s comments. “Vote accordingly, San Antonio. Vote for Kamala Harris.”

U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro, an outspoken critic of the GOP’s anti-Latino rhetoric, also chimed in. He warned that Hinchcliffe’s comments could lead to hate-fueled violence similar to the 2019 shooting in which a white supremacist targeted Latinos at an El Paso Walmart.

“This is the type of hate-filled replacement theory rhetoric that inspired the El Paso shooting five years ago,” Castro tweeted. “Trump is bringing back the hate toward Latinos.”

Castro’s twin brother, former San Antonio Mayor and Obama Administration housing secretary Julián Castro, also took to social media to criticize Hinchcliffe’s comments about Latinos — a demographic that makes up some 40% of Texas’ population.

“I hope every Latino voter will watch Trump and his campaign reps today and ask themselves whether Trump has respect for them or their children,” the former mayor tweeted. “Hell no he doesn’t. He thinks of you as trash, no matter how long your family has been in America.”

Indeed, analysts have drawn a comparison between Trump’s rally over the weekend and a 1939 Madison Square Garden rally held by the German American Bund, an organization that openly supported the policies of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.

However, one Lone Star State politician was happy to attend Trump’s controversial rally. In a social media post, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton shared a photo of himself and his family from the event.

“Happy to be here in New York at Madison Square Garden to support Donald Trump with my Daughter Katie and Son-in-law Ryan. Let’s Go!”

Early voting in Bexar County continues through Nov. 1. People can check polling locations and whether they’re registered to vote at the Bexar County Election Department’s website.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...