CNN
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Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny posted a clip of Vice President Kamala Harris’ plans for the island on social media on Sunday, moments after a speaker at Donald Trump’s New York rally sparked outrage by making an offensive joke. shared and expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The move comes as both Harris and Trump battle for Puerto Rican votes, particularly in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which is home to about 500,000 Puerto Ricans. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, shared the campaign clip to his more than 45 million followers on Instagram.
“I will never forget what Donald Trump did or failed to do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and capable leader,” Harris said in the video. Bad Bunny reshared the content multiple times, focusing on Trump. “He abandoned the island and tried to block aid after a series of devastating hurricanes, but all he offered was paper towels and insults.”
In Puerto Rico, thousands of people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, shortly after Hurricane Irma caused widespread power outages across the island. While assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rica, then-President Trump provoked a backlash by dumping paper towels and other supplies on the island’s residents.
Bad Bunny’s post Sunday was the first sign of support from artists as Harris’ campaign seeks to shore up celebrity endorsements. And it comes after comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe sparked outrage over comments he made attacking Puerto Rico at President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know, but right now there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean. Yeah. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” he said. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.
Tony Hinchcliffe criticizes Latinos and Puerto Rico in opening remarks at Trump rally
Officials said Harris’ campaign officials had been consulting with Bad Bunny’s team and wanted him to support the vice president’s Puerto Rico plan.
“This was a thoughtful and measured approach that focused on the issue,” the official said.
A representative for Bad Bunny told CNN that reposting Harris’ video on Instagram was “not an endorsement,” but that he “supports” Harris. “Mr. Benito’s political focus has always been Puerto Rico,” his representative told CNN. His representatives declined to say whether a formal endorsement would be received from the musician before the election.
An endorsement from Bad Bunny has been at the top of the Harris campaign’s celebrity endorsement wish list for months, according to a person familiar with the campaign’s Hollywood efforts. The campaign understands that Bad Bunny has significant influence within the Latino community, and his support could help sway young Latino male voters, a demographic that President Trump is gravitating toward. I believe it is sexual.
The campaign also honored Bad Bunny with Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, who shared the vice president’s message on social media.
“Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi joined the chorus of Puerto Rican stars supporting Harris, posting a video clip of Hinchcliffe’s joke at a Trump rally with the caption, “Are you serious?” to his 16 million followers on Instagram.
“It’s okay to have different views. I respect people who think differently than me…but people like this… It’s not good to walk down the path of speciesism,” he wrote.
Early Sunday morning, Harris visited Freddie & Tony’s Restaurant in North Philadelphia to talk about Puerto Rico’s challenges and discuss policies focused on the island.
“I’m going to create an Opportunity Economy Task Force for Puerto Rico,” she said, adding that she wants to focus on two things: building economic opportunity for the island and improving the power grid.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister and Max Rego contributed to this report.
