Washington.- Stars like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Oprah Winfrey and others have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to boost her candidacy against Republican Donald Trump. But not Bad Bunny, whose support could have a significant impact on the tight presidential race.
Why Bad Bunny?
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is the most famous Puerto Rican singer today and his opinion could be significant in the elections to get the Latino vote, which according to polls is one of the most difficult challenges for Harris’ campaign.
A New York Times poll found that 55 percent of likely Hispanic voters would choose the Democrat over Trump, but that’s a smaller proportion than four years ago, when 65 percent of Latino voters voted for Biden.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground for this election, what is known as a “swing” state.
A New York Times-Siena poll gives Harris a slight lead in Pennsylvania. However, the same poll put her neck-and-neck with Trump nationally.
Harris maintained her 4-point lead, 50% to 46%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
In that sense, the Latino vote in that state is key for either candidate.
Pennsylvania is home to the third-largest population of Puerto Ricans outside the island, including approximately 300,000 eligible voters.
Puerto Ricans living on the island cannot vote in the general elections despite being US citizens. However, once they reside in the United States they can cast their vote.
Key support
Political consultant María Cardona told The Washington Post that she has been receiving messages for months asking the same question: “Where is Bad Bunny?”
Kristian Ramos, another Democratic consultant, told the newspaper that the Puerto Rican’s support would be compared to Thanos, the Marvel character, who with a single snap could mobilize his compatriots.
Bad Bunny is no stranger to the social issues in his community. In 2022, he released the documentary video “El Apagón” in which he addresses the problems that Puerto Ricans deal with.
Recently in a podcast he recalled the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and this Friday, September 20, he released the song “Una velita” in which he talks about the ravages that the island faced and is facing.
Benito has criticized Donald Trump in the past, such as when he arrived at a charity fundraising concert wearing a T-shirt that read: “Are you a tweeter or President?” He did the same in 2020.
Anthony Cáceres, the Puerto Rican comedian known as “El Tony,” told the Washington Post that he doesn’t think seeking Bad Bunny’s endorsement will get Harris’ campaign very far.
“I don’t think he’s the kind of person who would like to be in charge of this or that game. He’s someone who acts from the heart,” he said.
“Could he be motivated to support her? Nobody knows.”
#Video #Bad #Bunny #lead #Harris #presidency
