After supporting Trump at Las Vegas rally, reggaeton star withdraws endorsement

LAS VEGAS — Puerto Rican singer and reggaeton artist, Nicky Jam, has retracted the previous statements he made in support of former president and GOP candidate Donald Trump at his rally in Las Vegas last month.

The statement, posted in a video on the Latin Grammy winner’s Instagram, comes days after a heavily criticized moment at a recent Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made jokes about Latinos and referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Luis Fonsi are among a growing list of artists who have spoken out against the comments made by Hinchcliffe.

The Trump campaign distanced itself from Hinchcliffe, telling the Associated Press: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

“The reason why I supported Donald Trump was because I thought it was best for the economy in the United States where many Latinos live, myself included,” Jam said in the video. “Him being a businessman, I thought it was the best move.”

“I never in my life thought that a month later a comedian would come and criticize my country and speak badly of my country and therefore I renounce any support for Donald Trump and I will throw myself to the sideline of anything political,” he added.

He ended the video saying, “Puerto Rico deserves respect.”

In August, Puerto Rican reggaeton artists Anuel AA and Justin Quiles joined Trump on the campaign trail at a Pennsylvania rally. Then, at a Las Vegas rally in September, Trump was joined onstage by Jam.

“Do you know Nicky? She’s hot,” Trump said, seeming to mistakenly refer to Jam as a woman.

Jam expressed his vehement support standing next to Trump onstage and said, “We need you to be the president. …It’s been four years and nothing has happened, we need Trump,” he said.

Soon after, Mexican rock band Maná pulled their 2016 song in collaboration with Jam, “De Pies a Cabeza,” from all streaming platforms.

The band’s frontman Fher Olvera made a statement on social media that said, “Mána does not work with racists” and added, “There is no business or promotion that is worth more than the dignity of our people.”

Mána and J-Lo will appear at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Las Vegas on Friday. Her rally will take place on the same day that Trump will make a stop at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson.