Nicky Jam made headlines and drew criticism after he endorsed Donald Trump and was misgendered by the politician during a rally. Now, the Puerto Rican singer is sharing more details of what exactly happened, explains that he learned his lesson following the debacle.
“I can’t support your campaign because I have to support my country,” Jam told Billboard. The singer rescinded his endorsement after a comedian disrespected Puerto Rico at a Trump rally, calling it “garbage.” “I learned my lesson,” Jam said.
In the interview, Jam also revealed that Trump “called and apologized” after mistakenly saying “she’s hot” as Trump introduced him at a rally. “He said, ‘I never call nobody, but you’re a standup guy,’” Jam recounted.
Jam explained that before he joined Trump onstage at the event, the now-president met with him and his wife, and that Trump assumed the “Nicky” he’d introduce onstage was Jam’s wife.
“Obviously, I let my wife go first, and when he saw her, he said, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful!’” said Jam. “It’s flattering to have the president tell my wife that she’s hot. But when I met him, in his mind she was Nicky Jam.”
“I’m sure when I went onstage he thought, ‘Oh my God,’” Jam added. “Because, what does he know about Nicky Jam? He doesn’t listen to reggaeton.”
Just a week before the election, Jam walked back his Trump endorsement in an Instagram video. “I never in my life thought a month later a comedian would criticize my country and speak poorly of my country so for that reason, I renounce any support of Donald Trump, and I will throw myself to the sideline of anything political,” he said at the time. “Puerto Rico deserves respect.”
Jam’s original endorsement drew stark backlash, including from Maná, who pulled their collaboration with Jam from streaming services, with the frontman Fher Olvera writing, “Maná doesn’t work with racists.”
