Trump pays the price for racist Puerto Rico joke and loses key Latino endorsement
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The fallout from Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally continues. After comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage,” one of Trump’s most prominent Latino backers has now rescinded his endorsement.
Puerto Rican artist Nicky Jam, who appeared on stage with Trump at a rally in Las Vegas just last month, says he no longer supports the former president. In a video posted to his Instagram account in Spanish and translated by Variety, the reggaeton star said “Puerto Rico deserves respect.”
Jam, whose real name is Nick Rivera Caminero, said the reason he supported Trump was because he believed it “was what’s best for the economy in the United States, where a lot of Latinos live.”
“A lot of immigrants that are suffering over the state of the economy – [Trump] being a businessman, I felt it was the right move,” he explained to his more than 43 million followers.
But Jam said he “never in his life” thought that just a short time later “a comedian would appear to criticize and talk badly about my [Puerto Rico].”
The musician’s September campaign appearance with Trump in Nevada made headlines, after the former president misgendered Jam while touting his endorsement.
“Latin music superstar Nicky Jam. Do you know Nicky? She’s hot,” Trump said to the audience. It wasn’t until Jam, donning a red “Make America Great Again” hat, joined the former president on stage that he realized his mistake.
Hinchcliffe’s comments quickly ignited a firestorm, with famous Puerto Rican entertainers taking to social media to denounce the former president. Superstars including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin have now publicly endorsed Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Lopez is set to join Harris at a rally in Las Vegas on Thursday.
With less than a week until Election Day, the racist remarks could have potentially devastating electoral consequences for Trump. Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, boasts a large Puerto Rican population, with nearly half a million Pennsylvanians of Puerto Rican descent, according to U.S. census data.
On Tuesday, Trump attempted to stifle the blowback by holding a rally in Latino-majority Allentown, Pennsylvania. However, on the same day, in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, the former president downplayed the comments as not a “big deal.”
