For months now — really, it feels like years — we’ve been bringing you story after story of celebrities endorsing Barack Obama, whether it’s Jay-Z; Soulja Boy Tell’em; Big Boi, Mary J. Blige and John Legend; or just about everybody else.
Finally, we have some good news for John McCain: Reggaeton king Daddy Yankee is a fan! On Monday (the first day of the Democratic National Convention, BTW) he endorsed the Republican candidate for president, and the unlikely duo appeared together at Phoenix Central High School. The teenage girls standing behind him seemed sort of nonplussed until McCain dropped the name of Daddy’s 2004 hit “Gasolina.”
“I know why you are sitting here,” McCain said in his speech, according to a press release from his campaign, “and that is not to listen to me so much, but I brought a special friend along with me today, a great American success story. As you know, he’s from Puerto Rico. He’s been married for 15 years. He has children aged 14, 12 and 10. One of his most famous songs, I know you’re very familiar with, ‘Gasolina.’ Well, here he is, Daddy Yankee.”
Daddy Yankee followed by saying:
“It is a very special honor to be here this beautiful morning with everybody right here. This is very special school. … It is a big pleasure that you guys invited me, and thanks to Senator McCain. And I am here endorsing Senator McCain because I believe in his ideals and his proposals to lead this nation. And like I said before, he has been a fighter for the Hispanic community, and I know that for me personally, I chose him as the best candidate because he has been a fighter for the immigration issue. So for me he is the best guy to lead this nation. And once again, I want to say thank you to everybody for the support it has given me in my entire career. This is a great honor sharing this beautiful morning with everybody. I am a man of few words but with a lot of action, like I always said.”
Neither the artist nor the senator took questions — and what both failed to mention is that Daddy Yankee can’t vote for McCain in November! Puerto Rico is a United States territory, not a state, and its residents cannot vote in presidential elections — but hey, they don’t have to pay federal income taxes, either …
By Michelle Rabinowitz, MTV Newsroom
