Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The world is watching for Bad Bunny to make a political statement at the Super Bowl. Democrats are watching closely to figure out how to make their own.<\/p>\n
Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio, the Puerto Rican recording artist known globally by his stage name, has created a pop culture phenomenon that will converge at a historic halftime show performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday when the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks. Though Bad Bunny already made his Super Bowl debut alongside Shakira and Jennifer Lopez back in 2020, this time the spotlight will be on him and his exclusively in-Spanish catalog. And while his invitation triggered a harsh backlash on the right from the president on down, it\u2019s also marking a major inflection point for Hispanic Americans of all backgrounds.<\/p>\n
Sunday may prove to be Bad Bunny\u2019s biggest chance to move the dial.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an opportunity here, Democrats told POLITICO, to turn Bad Bunny\u2019s cultural phenomenon into a political one, right as the party is mounting its strongest resistance to Trump\u2019s sweeping deportation agenda \u2014 and with months to go before the midterms to make amends with Latino voters who have left their tent.<\/p>\n
Former Rep. Luis Guti\u00e9rrez (D-Ill.), who is of Puerto Rican descent and whose tenure in the House was marked by his outspokenness for the Latino communities he represented, emphasized that Democrats need to seize this moment to win back Latino support.<\/p>\n
Democrats \u201cdo too little to engage the Latino community, and then they wonder why all these Latinos voted for Trump? Because you didn’t knock on their doors asking to vote for the Democrat. You failed to message us in so many ways,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s such a huge watershed moment,\u201d Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said. \u201cI wouldn’t be surprised if he used this as a very unifying moment, but also on very resonant and salient grounds to send a message to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s already signs of what\u2019s on the Latino rapper\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I say thanks to God, I\u2019m going to say, \u2018ICE out,\u2019\u201d Bad Bunny said last Sunday as he accepted the Grammy for Best M\u00fasica Urbana Album for his record-smashing \u201cDeB\u00cd TiRAR M\u00e1S FOToS\u201d \u2014 just hours before taking home the night\u2019s biggest prize, Album of the Year. \u201cWe\u2019re not savage, we\u2019re not animals, we\u2019re not aliens \u2014 we are humans, and we are Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bad Bunny isn\u2019t new to political endeavors. But he has long focused primarily on island politics \u2014 he\u2019s a big activist for Puerto Rican independence \u2014 and has only occasionally weighed in on mainland issues.<\/p>\n
In 2024, shortly after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe infamously disparaged Puerto Rico as a \u201cfloating island of garbage\u201d during the pre-show for Trump\u2019s rally at Madison Square Garden, Bad Bunny posted an endorsement of Kamala Harris to his tens of millions of Instagram followers. But he never appeared with Harris on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
His political trajectory has followed other Latino voters\u2019 in recent months, however. Polls show many Hispanics<\/a> have been particularly outraged at the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown. And they are highly motivated to vote and could shift left, after consecutive election cycles where Trump made significant inroads with Latinos.<\/p>\n Americans overall in recent polling<\/a> have shown an increasing souring on Trump\u2019s handling of immigration. The two fatal shootings in Minneapolis and the stream of videos of ICE raids online are driving a fierce grassroots opposition that is pushing Democrats to hold the line on the Hill and not cave in negotiations on the DHS funding bill. But Trump’s crackdown has been felt most acutely in Latino communities. For many, the stories of families being detained<\/a> have fueled a feeling of solidarity across the diaspora.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s bringing people of all kinds together \u2014 especially the Latino community, the diaspora of Latino communities, that come from so many different places, so many different subcultures. It’s bringing us together in a new vision of latinidad,\u201d said Chicago Alderman Michael Rodriguez, who represents the city\u2019s historically Mexican Little Village community. \u201cOur community is being assaulted right now.\u201d<\/p>\n During Bad Bunny\u2019s massive world tour last year, the artist did not schedule any shows on the U.S. mainland, in part due to concerns that ICE would target his concerts for immigration enforcement operations. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,\u201d he told i-D magazine in a September interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the rapper was announced as the halftime performer in September, Corey Lewandowski said there would be<\/a> ICE enforcement operations at the Super Bowl \u2014 seemingly bringing to life some of the concerns that Mart\u00ednez Ocasio voiced. Local leaders in the Bay Area have said this week they\u2019ve privately been told no ICE officers will be at the show. DHS has remained more vague publicly<\/a> about enforcement plans around the game. DHS did not respond to a request for comment on this story.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Republicans this weekend \u2014 many of whom in the MAGA universe have referred to Mart\u00ednez Ocasio as \u201cWoke Bunny\u201d \u2014 are holding their own halftime performance to make a statement. Turning Point is counterprogramming Bad Bunny\u2019s performance with a made-for-television \u201cAll American Halftime Show\u201d featuring Kid Rock. \u201cI think that that part of the country just felt offended,\u201d said Andrew Kolvert, a spokesperson for Turning Point. \u201cThere needs to be a counter voice that says, \u2018Hey, you know, we love this country. We love the rule of law, we love our troops, we love law enforcement, we love traditional America.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For Democrats, the question of how to better engage and win in Latino communities has dogged them as the party searches for a way out of the wilderness since their 2024 election losses. Bad Bunny has shown a natural ability to bring those communities together with his music, filling stadiums across the world for multi-night shows.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that easy. We\u2019re 23 countries, we fight each other every day,\u201d said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who represents the largest Puerto Rican community in the Midwest \u2014 and whose city of Chicago was an early target of Trump’s increased immigration enforcement efforts. \u201cFor Bad Bunny to be able to bring Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Dominicans together, and all feel like they\u2019re being heard and that he can represent them, says a lot about who is.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Mart\u00ednez Ocasio, he\u2019s keeping mum about what to expect from his performance on Sunday night. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a huge party,\u201d he said at a preview event on Thursday<\/a>. \u201cI want to bring to the stage, of course, a lot of my culture. But I really don\u2019t, I don\u2019t want to give any spoilers. It\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The cultural solidarity that Bad Bunny\u2019s music has fostered could translate into political unity, Rodriguez, the Chicago alderman, said. And some of his fellow Democrats are ready to build on the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s just no scenario where he is not going to have a message,\u201d Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said. \u201cThere are moments in history that really move a community and solidify them within a political movement. And I think that’s happening right now.\u201d<\/p>\n