Nicky Jam has retracted his support for Donald Trump following the insulting remarks made about Puerto Rico at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
The former US president took over New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden on October 27 for one of his rallies for his ongoing presidential campaign. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was one of the speakers of the night and went on to make insulting jokes that leaned on racist stereotypes.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” the comic said.
Following the remarks made, Jam – who previously shared his support for Trump and is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent – took to his official Instagram account to share a clip of himself sitting in his car rescinding his support for the former president.
“The reason I supported Donald Trump was because I thought he was the best for the economy in the United States where a lot of Latinos live; a lot of immigrants are suffering because of the economy,” he said. “Never in my life did I think that one month later there would be a comedian who would criticize and speak poorly of my Puerto Rico, and for that I withdraw my support of Donald Trump and stepping away from political conversation. Puerto Rico deserves respect,” the reggaeton artist said (translated from the Spanish by Consequence Of Sound)
Back in September, Jam appeared as a speaker at Trump’s Las Vegas rally to share his endorsement for the former president.
While at the rally, Trump mistook the artist for a woman and told the crowd: “Latin music superstar Nicky Jam. Do you know Nicky? She’s hot. Where is Nicky?”
Jam came to the stage to Trump’s surprise, and the 78-year-old quickly changed tune – “Oh look, come here!”, he said to Jam before turning to the audience and saying “I’m glad he came up.”
Elsewhere, following the recent passing of music legend Quincy Jones, fans have shared a controversial interview in which he gave his true feelings about Trump.
In an explosive interview with Vulture back in 2018, Jones said: “I used to hang out with him,” Jones began. “He’s a crazy motherfucker. Limited mentally – a megalomaniac, narcissistic. I can’t stand him.”
“A symphony conductor knows more about how to lead than most businesspeople – more than Trump does. He doesn’t know shit. Someone who knows about real leadership wouldn’t have as many people against him as he does. He’s a fucking idiot.”