Marco Rubio defends Trump after racist comments made by a comedian at a campaign rally.

Cuban-American Senator Marco Rubio came to Donald Trump's defense on Tuesday following his campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating garbage island."

The comedian's statements, criticized for their offensive and racist tone, led many to question the event, including politicians and the media.

Marco Rubio defended Trump, stating that "Puerto Rico is not garbage; it is the home of American citizens who have made tremendous contributions to our country."

The senator also explained that, although some people felt offended by Hinchcliffe's jokes, those were not Trump’s words. "They were jokes from a stand-up comedian who offends practically everyone, all the time... because that’s what stand-up comedians do," Rubio added.

Rubio deflected criticism by targeting Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming that her administration has destroyed the economy and allowed criminals to enter the country illegally. "What is not a joke is how Kamala Harris has destroyed our economy and allowed dangerous criminals to terrorize Americans," he stated.

The congressman also condemned the "journalists" who, according to him, are assisting Harris with her "dangerous hate campaign" by comparing Trump to Hitler and using images from Nazi rallies to discredit his supporters.

However, on Monday, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar condemned the joke, and Senator Rick Scott also denounced these offensive remarks in a statement on social media, taking a moment to defend the people of Puerto Rico.

In response to the controversy, Trump's campaign denied that Hinchcliffe's jokes reflected the views of the former president. "This joke does not reflect the opinions of President Trump or the campaign," said Danielle Alvarez, a senior advisor to the campaign.

Despite the comedian's racist comments, the Republican candidate for next week's presidential election described the event as a "festival of love."

However, the former president's supporters expressed concern about how this rally could distract from his campaign message at a critical time, just one week before the elections.

The Democrats, for their part, wasted no time and intensified their attacks on Kamala Harris's rival on Monday, following widespread condemnation of his comments about Puerto Rico, which highlighted the growing influence of a key Latino group in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Harris described Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden as "more vivid than usual" and stated that it "fuels the flames of hate," while President Joe Biden deemed the rally "simply shameful."