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According to Reuters, some of Trump's Latin American allies consider this reaction a political misstep.
US President Donald Trump's criticism of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny's performance during the Super Bowl halftime show has sparked concerns among some Latino Republican strategists and representatives, who warn that it could damage his support ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Trump called the Feb. 8 performance “an insult to America’s Greatness” and a “slap in the face” for the country, criticizing the fact that the performance was mostly in Spanish. In a post on social media, he wrote: “ Nobody understands a word this guy is saying ,” while calling the dance “disgusting” and inappropriate for children.
According to Reuters, some of Trump's Latin American allies consider this reaction a political misstep, especially at a time when Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and several key races are held in Hispanic-majority districts in states such as California, Arizona and Colorado.
“It will do us more harm than good. This shouldn’t have been a culture battle that had to be won,” said Vianca Rodriguez, a former Trump administration official and former deputy director of Hispanic communications for the Republican National Committee during the 2024 campaign. She stressed that she remains a supporter of the president.
Hispanics make up about a fifth of the U.S. population and played a significant role in Trump's reelection in 2024. According to the Pew Research Center, Trump received 48% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, up from 36% in 2020 — the highest percentage for a Republican presidential candidate.
However, a Pew survey of more than 5,000 Latino voters showed a decline in support. At the start of Trump's second term in January 2025, 93% of Latinos who voted for him approved of the job he was doing. Ten months later, that figure had fallen to 81%.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said Trump won historic support from Latino voters in 2024 “based on promises to enforce immigration laws, deport criminal illegal immigrants, and address inflation.” According to her, the president is fulfilling these promises.
On the other hand, Javier Palomarez, president of the Hispanic Business Council of the United States, said that many small business owners are unhappy because of high prices and tariffs, and that the comments about Bad Bunny could add to the frustration. He stated that, according to an internal survey of his organization, the percentage of members who saw Trump as the best candidate for the economy has fallen from 70% before the 2024 election to 40% currently.
Ramiro Cavazos, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Latino-owned businesses in Minneapolis have reported significant sales declines since the start of the crackdown on immigration.
However, some Hispanic conservatives were not offended by the president's comments. Denise Galvez Turros, co-founder of the organization "Latinas for Trump" in 2016, said the president should be more careful in his wording, but backed up his criticism of the artist, arguing that Puerto Rican slang and pronunciation can make the lyrics difficult to understand.
A White House source told Reuters that the administration needs to engage more strongly with Latino and African-American voters who were part of the winning coalition, while considering trips by the president to border areas and districts with large Latino populations.
According to Rodriguez, the debate over Bad Bunny may fade over time, but Republicans need to strengthen their Spanish-language communications and avoid the perception that they are taking the Latino vote for granted./ Adapted from "Pamphlet", from Reuters
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