In September, Latin music superstar Nicky Jam appeared onstage with Donald Trump. Donning a red MAGA hat, the reggaeton singer told a Las Vegas rally that he was supporting the former president.
On Tuesday, he withdrew his endorsement – joining a chorus of famous Puerto Ricans who have condemned comments made by a comedian at Trump’s New York City rally earlier this week assailing the US island territory.
Puerto Rico should be respected,” Nicky Jam told his 43 million Instagram followers.
While Jam didn’t endorse Harris in his post, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, reggaeton star Don Omar, Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi and global superstar Bad Bunny are among the celebrities of Puerto Rican descent who have shown support for the vice president or her platform since Sunday. Lopez is also participating in a rally alongside Harris in Las Vegas on Thursday. arris campaign officials had always planned for star-studded events in the homestretch of the presidential election. But the influx of Latino artists denouncing Trump and showing up for Harris with voting already underway is the October surprise that the campaign didn’t see coming.
Together, those stars have a combined 390 million global followers on Instagram alone – more than the US population.
In a razor-thin race, celebrity support can move the needle, experts say, especially among a demographic with which polls have shown Trump closing the gap with Harris – Latino men – and especially at a time when both campaigns are vying for the Puerto Rican vote in battleground Pennsylvania, where there’s a sizable portion of Latino voters.
The Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from Hinchcliffe, with campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez saying in a statement after the rally, This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
Unexpected support
The support from Bad Bunny – born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – came as a surprise to the Harris team, according to a campaign official.
Harris campaign officials had been in talks with Bad Bunny’s team and were cautiously optimistic he would back the vice president’s plans for Puerto Rico, according to a source familiar with discussions, but they didn’t expect him to weigh in Sunday, sharing on his social media a video of Harris’ plans for the island. Bad Bunny has not generally weighed in on politics. A representative for the star told CNN that his repost of Harris’ video on Instagram was not an endorsement” but that he is supporting” the vice president because Benito’s political focus has always been on Puerto Rico.”
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