Behind Anuel AA's endorsement of Trump, a pitch to Pennsylvania's Latinos
Former President Donald Trump’s appearance alongside Puerto Rican reggaeton star Anuel AA forms part of a larger emerging pattern in his campaign’s outreach to voters of color — and signals the campaign might see an opportunity in battleground Pennsylvania.
Celebrity endorsements in an election year are hardly a new phenomenon. But former President Donald Trump’s appearance alongside Puerto Rican reggaeton star Anuel AA forms part of a larger emerging pattern in his campaign’s outreach to voters of color — and signals the campaign might see an opportunity in battleground Pennsylvania.
After greeting the former president on the tarmac, Anuel AA, born Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago, endorsed Trump during his rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Friday, telling Puerto Ricans to “stay united” and to “vote for Trump.”
“I don’t know if these people know who the hell you are, but it’s good for the Puerto Rican vote. Every Puerto Rican is going to vote for Trump right now. We’ll take it,” Trump told several thousand attendees at the campaign rally while introducing the rapper.
While the immediate crowd might not be familiar with the star, his magnitude as a reggaeton and rap artist likely won’t be lost on the likely target audience: young Puerto Rican voters and battleground state Latino voters at large. The 31-year-old rapper is a frequent feature on smash hits with artists like Bad Bunny — and a major artist in his own right with a social media following millions-strong to show for it.
But the rapper’s appearance and brief remarks may also be part of a larger Trump campaign effort to court artists of color to engage voters in a new way. Trump has garnered the support of several notable Black artists — including rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black — and others like Sexxy Red have signaled their support for the former president in interviews. At a rally in the Bronx earlier this year, Trump brought up two local fixtures of the growing drill music scene: Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow.
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