Trump’s October Surprise

Donald Trump’s October surprise has landed—and somehow, it’s against himself. In a baffling move that feels almost like self-sabotage, the Trump administration kicked off a campaign rally with a set from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. His opening act? A dive straight into racist territory, complete with a rant that described Puerto Rico as “trash.” They rolled out the red carpet for an act that would offend a huge bloc of American citizens, many of whom reside in swing states like Pennsylvania.

Let’s be clear: Puerto Ricans haven’t exactly forgotten Trump’s botched response to Hurricane Maria, which saw "$20,000,000 in aid delayed". And here we are, in the homestretch of the election—the time when candidates typically polish their final appeal, hoping to snag those last critical votes. But instead of a coherent message, Trump’s team gave the microphone to a comic with a hard-hitting reminder of why so many Americans are fed up with this administration’s constant stream of divisive garbage.

What’s even more stunning is that this wasn’t a case of Hinchcliffe going rogue. Trump’s team saw the script, edited it, loaded it onto a teleprompter, and hit play. Allegedly, they even had to stop Hinchcliffe from calling Kamala Harris the c word. So, the offensive material that made it through? That’s the version they thought was acceptable.

This wasn’t an unscripted moment that slipped through the cracks; it was a deliberate decision to package this level of bile as campaign material. You’d have to be either historically incompetent or straight-up nihilistic to let this go live.