NEW YORK (AP) — Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Nicky Jam has withdrawn his endorsement of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election a month after appearing at a rally for the candidate.
Tony Hinchcliffe, a comic who called Puerto Rico “garbage” before a packed Trump rally in New York appears to be the catalyst.
“The reason why I supported Donald Trump was because I thought he was the best for the economy in the United States, where many Latinos live, many of us Latinos live, myself included, many immigrants who are suffering because of the economy and him, being a businessman, I thought it was the best move,” Jam said in Spanish, in a video statement posted to his official Instagram page.
“Never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian was going to come to criticize my country and speak badly of my country and therefore, I renounce any support for Donald Trump, and I sidestep any political situation. Respect Puerto Rico, Nicky Jam.”
Representatives for Jam did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
Puerto Ricans living on the island cannot vote in general elections despite being U.S. citizens, but they can exert a powerful influence with relatives on the mainland, who are eligible to vote.
The effects of Hinchcliffe's remarks are felt on the island and elsewhere: One of the biggest artists on the planet, the Grammy-award winning Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, shortly afterward.
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez, shared a video to his Instagram account Tuesday detailing the origins of Puerto Rico and its inhabitants' prominence in politics, sports and entertainment. The caption read: “garbage.”
“We have been fighting since day one of our existence, we are the definition of heart and resistance,” he wrote in Spanish. "Here we stand, here we are, and for those who forget who we are... don’t worry, we proudly remind you.”
Actor Aubrey Plaza addressed the remarks at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards on Tuesday night, saying her grandmother, if alive, would respond profanely to Hinchcliffe's characterization of Puerto Rico.
“I just wanted to very quickly respond to the racist joke that was made at that Trump rally about Puerto Rico, where most of my family is from,” Plaza told attendees. “Thankfully, my sweet abuelita wasn’t here to hear that disgusting remark.”
Ricky Martin, who had previously endorsed Harris, was also offended by the comment and said “that’s what they think of us,” on Instagram.
A representative for Anuel AA, another famous Puerto Rican star who endorsed Trump last month, said he was on tour and unable to comment on Hinchcliffe's remarks.
Jam, known for songs such as “Travesuras,” “Voy a Beber” and the J Balvin collaboration “X” expressed his support for Trump last month at a rally in Las Vegas, where Trump seemed to mistake him for a woman. “Latin Music superstar Nicky Jam! Do you know Nicky, she’s hot. Where’s Nicky?” he said.
As a result, the Mexican pop-rock band Maná has removed its 2016 song with Nicky Jam, “De pies a cabeza,” from online platforms. “Maná does not work with racists,” the group said in an Instagram post explaining the decision.
Maná is rallying with Harris in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Berenice Bautista in Mexico City and Adriana Gomez Licon in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
FILE - Nicky Jam speaks as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump listens during a campaign event at the World Market Center, Sept. 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Rocket fire from Lebanon killed five people in northern Israel on Thursday, including four foreign workers, in the deadliest such attack since Israel's invasion earlier this month.
The attack came as senior U.S. diplomats were in the region to push for cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, hoping to wind down the wars in the Middle East in the Biden administration’s final months.
The Hezbollah militant group has been firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel, and drawing retaliatory strikes, since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of the Gaza Strip triggered the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies backed by Iran.
The conflict along the border escalated into a full-blown war last month, when Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his deputies. Israeli ground forces pushed into Lebanon at the start of October.
The Metula regional council reported Thursday's attack, without detailing the number or type of projectiles used. The nationalities of the workers were also not immediately known.
Metula, Israel’s northernmost town which is surrounded by Lebanon on three sides, has suffered heavy damage from rockets. The town’s residents evacuated in October 2023, and only security officials and agricultural workers remain.
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, an organization that advocates for foreign workers, said authorities had put them in danger by allowing them to work along the border without proper protection.
Agricultural areas along Israel’s border, where much of the country’s orchards are located, are closed military areas that can only be entered with official permission.
Hezbollah's newly named top leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, said in a video statement Wednesday that the militant group will keep fighting Israel until it is offered cease-fire terms it deems acceptable. He said it has recovered from a series of setbacks in recent months, including attacks using explosive pagers and walkie-talkies that was widely blamed on Israel.
“Hezbollah’s capabilities are still available and compatible with a long war,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate from more areas of southern Lebanon, as airstrikes in different parts of the country killed eight people, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.
Israel has warned people to evacuate from large areas of the country, including major cities in the south and east. Some 1.2 million people have been displaced since the escalation in September.
Thousands of people have fled from Baalbek, the main city in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, and surrounding areas after Israeli evacuation warnings and aerial bombardment on Wednesday.
Jean Fakhry, a local official in the Deir al-Ahmar region, some 17 kilometers (10 miles) to the southeast, said the main highway “turned into a parking lot.” He said around 12,000 displaced people are staying in the area, with most being hosted in private homes.
At one of the shelters, families with luggage were still arriving on Thursday.
“Our homes were destroyed,” said Zahraa Younis, from the village near Baalbek. “We came with nothing —no clothes or anything else — and took shelter here.”
More than 2,800 people have been killed and nearly 13,000 wounded in Lebanon since the conflict began last year, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
In Israel, rockets, missiles, and drones launched by Hezbollah have killed at least 68 people, about half of them soldiers. More than 60,000 Israelis from towns and cities along the border have been evacuated from their homes for more than a year.
Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Tawil from Deir al-Ahmar, Lebanon.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Rescue workers use excavators to remove the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit Tuesday night in an Israeli airstrike, as they search for victims in Sarafand, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A civil defence worker searches for victims in the rubble of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday night, in Sarafand, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Emergency workers carry the body of a victim found in the rubble of a destroyed building hit Tuesday night in an Israeli airstrike in Sarafand, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
