Film and music superstar Jennifer Lopez said that Vice President Kamala Harris will support immigrants’ freedom to chase the American dream just as she did, during a fiery and emotional speech at a rally in Las Vegas Thursday night.
Lopez, who was born in the Bronx to parents from Puerto Rico, stumped for Harris four days after a comedian at former President Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally disparaged the island territory by calling it a “floating island of garbage.”
"At Madison Square Garden, he reminded us who he really is and how he really feels,” she said of the former president. “It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans who were offended that day, okay? It was every Latino in this country, it was humanity and anyone of decent character.”
With five days until Election Day, she said the country is “on the brink of an election that demands a choice between backwards and forwards” and a country where “any child from any background can not only work their ass off to bring their dreams to life and be able to do so with dignity and respect for their neighbors.”
Lopez told the crowd she could only get roles as maids and loud-mouthed Latinas when she started as an actress but knew she had more to offer.
“I think there are a lot of people in this country who know that they are capable of more, and we all just want a chance to prove it.”
Speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally where supporters held red and blue signs that read, “when we vote, we win,” Lopez referenced her hit song “Let’s Get Loud” – which she performed at Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021 – when she encouraged Latinos to “get loud” and vote.
“I believe in the power of our community. I believe in the power of all our votes. I believe that together, we are the difference in this election,” she said during a speech where she occasionally slipped into Spanish before introducing Harris.
She said the vice president’s policies would help Americans get ahead “no matter what we look like, who we love or who we worship or where we’re from.”
Harris, for her part, said Trump is "all about hate and division" and sought to offer voters a different path.
Lopez is one of several Puerto Rican stars who responded to Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last weekend with support for Harris including rapper Bad Bunny, singer Ricky Martin, actor John Leguizamo and actress Rita Moreno.
“You can’t even spell American without ‘rican,’” Lopez said. “This is our country too, and we must exercise our right to vote on Nov. 5.”
Reggaeton star Nicky Jam, who previously endorsed Trump and stumped with him in Las Vegas, withdrew his endorsement this week as well.
"Never in my life did I think that one month later there would be a comedian who would criticize my country and speak poorly of my country," Nicky Jam, whose real name is Nick Rivera Caminero, said in Spanish in a video posted to social media. "For that, I withdraw my support of Donald Trump. Puerto Rico should be respected."
Trump's campaign sought to distance itself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's joke, but the former president himself did not condemn his remarks, instead calling the event – which featured other speakers making sexist and crude remarks – a "love fest."
Polling shows Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the battleground state of Nevada.