Reggaeton star Nicky Jam on Wednesday revoked his endorsement of Donald Trump after a comic referred to as Puerto Rico “a floating island of rubbish” at a Madison Sq. Backyard rally for the previous president.
Nicky Jam, who’s Puerto Rican, introduced to his 42 million social media followers he was rescinding his endorsement. He had endorsed Trump throughout a marketing campaign rally in Las Vegas in September.
“I by no means thought in my life {that a} month later a comic would come alongside and criticize my nation, communicate poorly of my nation, subsequently I surrender any help for Donald Trump,” he mentioned in Spanish in an Instagram publish.
Why did Nicky Jam endorse Trump?
In his Instagram video on Wednesday, Nicky Jam defined that he had endorsed Trump “as a result of I believed that was one of the best for the economic system within the U.S., the place many Latinos dwell, together with myself, the place many immigrants are struggling due to the economic system, and him being a businessman I believed that was one of the best transfer.”
His September endorsement got here as a part of a coordinated effort by the Trump marketing campaign to attach with outstanding Puerto Rican voices within the tradition as a technique to court docket a neighborhood that would show decisive in November.
Even when Trump proved unfamiliar with the artists the marketing campaign was courting — “Are you aware Nicky? She’s sizzling!” Trump mentioned at his rally earlier than Nicky Jam got here on stage — the artist joined the previous president on the mic and advised the group, “We want Donald Trump as president once more.”
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The endorsement sparked an instantaneous backlash on social media amongst followers and fellow Latino artists who had been each upset by the endorsement and who felt the artist had been insulted by Trump. Amongst those that criticized the artist was Mana, a Mexican rock band that eliminated a 2016 music with Nicky Jam and mentioned in a social media publish that it “doesn’t work with racists.” Nicky Jam in the end took down his endorsement from Instagram.
Sunday’s “rubbish” remark by comic Tony Hinchcliffe on the Trump rally drew outrage amongst a key voting group simply days earlier than Election Day.
Among the many celebrities who weighed in had been Jennifer Lopez, Ariana DeBose and Ricky Martin. Martin, with over 18 million followers, took to Instagram and posted, “Puerto Rico, that is what they consider us, vote for Kamala Harris.”
Trump responded to questions on it on Tuesday by saying he didn’t know who Hinchcliffe was and was unaware of the joke he had made. “It is no person’s fault, however any individual mentioned some unhealthy issues,” he advised Fox Information’ Sean Hannity. “I do not know if it is a large deal or not, however I do not need anyone making nasty jokes or silly jokes. In all probability he should not have been there,” Trump added.
Trump made two stops in Pennsylvania Tuesday with a concentrate on the Latino vote. Though he spoke in regards to the Puerto Rican neighborhood, he didn’t instantly tackle Hinchcliffe’s feedback. “I am so proud we’re getting help from Latinos like by no means earlier than,” Trump mentioned at a rally on the PPL Middle in Allentown. “No one loves our Latino and our Puerto Rican neighborhood greater than I do.”
Pennsylvania is dwelling to over 579,000 eligible Latino voters, based on the UCLA Latino Coverage and Politics Institute
On Sunday, the identical day because the Trump rally in New York, Harris posted a video on her social media platforms pledging to create a Puerto Rico activity drive centered on creating jobs, slicing purple tape on catastrophe restoration funds, and dealing with leaders throughout the island to make sure dependable and inexpensive electrical energy.
Reggaeton musician and singer Unhealthy Bunny, a world famous person from Puerto Rico, shared the vp’s video on his Instagram account along with his 45 million followers, and later posted a clipped portion of the video through which Harris slammed Trump for his response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.
A supply near Unhealthy Bunny confirmed to CBS Information that the Instagram publish represented an endorsement of the vp, breaking from Unhealthy Bunny’s prior custom of not weighing in on nationwide politics.
