11.22.09
ENTERTAINMENT

Latina.com Exclusive: Daddy Yankee Explains Why He Supports John McCain

Retna Ltd.

Amigo de Obama? Not Daddy Yankee. The reggaetonero has confirmed that come election day, his vote will be for Republican candidate John McCain. Latina.com spoke exclusively to Daddy Yankee to understand why he decided to vote Republican this November while most celebrities seem downright fanatic about Democratic nominee Barack Obama.  

The Puerto Rican native says the Senator made an impression on him the first time they met, at an event nearly two years ago: "I thought he was a really cool person, and this was way before he was even a presidential candidate, and I liked him a lot."

The unlikely partners reconnected last month when they were both in New York. "He invited me [to Washington] and I went," says Yankee. "We talked about boxing, we're both boxing fanatics."

It was McCain's down-to-earth nature that appealed to him the most. He explains, "the cool thing about McCain is that the same guy that was senator is the same guy who is running for president now. When I talked to him, I never felt beneath him, he looks directly at me when he’s speaking to me, and we have the same level of respect for each other."

But it was the stories McCain told him of his time on the battlefield that really struck a chord with the musician. "He said, 'Yankee, I was a soldier. And I saw people die next to me, Latinos who never got their citizenship but who were willing to die for this country. I saw a Hernandez, I saw a Rodriguez, how they killed them.' And that broke my heart hearing that. And I went, man, this guy lived it. He’s not just going, 'hey I want your vote.' He lived it."

Does it bother him that McCain doesn't speak a word of Spanish? "No, no. He has this great desire to help our people. People don't know this but since he was a senator, he has fought hard for the well-being of Latinos. I know we are dealing with someone who cares about the Latino community."


"I was surprised I have to say at how willing to listen he is," Yankee explains. "People who haven’t met him might get the wrong perception of him but he's totally different."

When we asked if he had plans to meet with Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Yankee responded with a curt, "No."

If Daddy Yankees influence within the Latino community is any indication, looks like John McCain's bid for the White House just got a major bump.

Tell us, does Daddy Yankee's endorsement of McCain affect your decision?



83 Comments
Lovinlife I can’t believe you’re buying into the soldier story. Being a veteran doesn’t qualify anybody to be president. Come on you sound like Daddy Yankee now. The man crashed his plane five times before he got caught and imprisoned. Yeah that says a lot about his ability to win a war. The fact is that he voted with Bush 90% of the time and our country is doing worst than ever in every aspect. Are you aware that he wants to drill for oil, despite the fact that the environmental issues? We need environmentally friendly resources of energy not further destroy our planet. We need to restore our foreign policy, not go to war with every country we think poses a threat. Our alliances are weakening and so is our military. Illegal immigrants shouldn’t be separated from their families and should be granted a pardon and US citizenship which is what Obama proposes. He also wants to raise taxes for the rich and restore our school system. That’s the America I wanna live in. McCain will only do more harm than what Bush has already done and lets not even mention his choice for VP. If there is a shred of common sense in America, Obama will win this election and this eight year night mare will be a thing of the past.
How completely ignorant, not to mention arrogant, of Fat Joe to assume that Daddy Yankee's support of John McCain must be because he is ill-informed politically! As an educated latina, I support McCain because he best represents my & my culture's beliefs & concerns. Abortion, the economy, & immigration are among the issues that McCain has shown concrete plans of action (both in the past & for the future)...McCain manages to address these issues without compromising his principles (regardless of what is pc) and has proven his complete devotion to this country. McCain willingly served our country. Then made his country proud by enduring 5 years of torture as a prisoner of war, to then emerge and continue his lifelong dedication to this country as a civil servant. I don't think obama would bleed for this country the way McCain has...In fact, I feel Obama has a seriously questionable, if not unnerving, background & upbringing...and has a characteristically un-patriotic wife. If you want to talk about philanthropists, Cindy McCain is responsible for founding the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988, which organizes trips by medical personnel to disaster-struck/war-torn third world countries. She's lead 55 (yes you heard correctly, 55!) missions under this foundation to places like Kuwait, Iraq, Nicaragua, India, Bangladesh, etc. She's also participated in operations to remove land mines in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Angola, and more. Basically, she's done more humanitarian work internationally speaking than Obama or his wife ever has combined. As far as patriotism is concerned, there are those who despise what our country stands for so much so, that they would run for president simply to undermine the system from within (hello, Mrs. Obama). McCain is an advocate for alternative fuel sources. but more importantly, he's willing to take action immediately to alleviate the financial burden of Americans today. Also, McCain has proven that he stands against corruption in any party, having stood against what he felt was large corrupt political contributions, during which he worked side-by-side with democratic senators in an effort to end corruption wherever he saw it. so clearly, he's not a puppet, and although he respects president Bush, as do many republicans, he's certainly not his clone. He has been nicknamed the Maverick Republican because of his fearlessness in standing against corruption within his own party. Furthermore, I’ve been on both the McCain and the Obama websites, and I’ve followed both of their campaigns. Obama has never given any clear, concise plan on any of the issues at hand. His website consists of quotes that usually begin with the words "I believe..." and have no substance or actual plan of action therein. Having military experience, I believe McCain could guide us to a logical and RESPONSIBLE conclusion of the war. Of course, I value the opinions of all my fellow Americans and acknowledge everyone's entitlement to their opinion...Unlike the small-minded Fat Joe, I do not simply attack someone's supposed intelligence/political awareness because they happen to have a different point of view than myself.
Phatjoe167 you are nothing but an idiot and you must definitely be living in Lala Land. How dare you say that during the Bush administration the economy has been at its peak. Aren’t you aware that there is a deficit!!! And its more than clear that the war on Iraq was wrong. Where are the weapons of mass destruction? You should be ashamed as a Latino, that’s if you are, to be supporting McCain and trying to persuade others that he is right for us. He is not, and everybody knows and we all have felt how the last eight years have taken a toll on our economy. You disgust me. Stop writing all those lies about Obama. He is devoted to our community and helping the poor. When he graduated Harvard he could’ve gotten himself a high paying job but instead he chose to go back to Chicago and continue helping the poor. He has voted for laws that actually help us and worked with the community and the poor closely and in person. McCain might have supported certain causes but he didn’t vote for them. What good is it to say you are going to support a cause if at the end of the day you don’t vote for it. Venus214143 you say that Latina is partisan and so on. Have you tuned in to Fox or CNN lately. A lot of these so called news programs are extremely partisan and directly attack the democratic party. Lets not forget that the republican party is the one with the most lobbyist and have the oil companies support. Yes we do have to consider the well being of the entire country and lets not forget about the environmental crisis. Palin says that polar bears are not at the verge of extinction and does not believe global warming is caused by man. Are you kidding me? Is that kind of politics that have our country and the entire world in the crisis we’re in now. And lets make one thing clear Democrats and Liberals are different parties. Resamarie your comment is more confusing than an ancient script. You get educated and learn how to write. Native Texan I just don’t see how any person in their right mind would vote for McCain regardless of their political preference. These elections are crucial and we can’t afford another four or eight years of the same politics. And finally re Daddy Yankee, him and his people should be more careful of who they publicly support and specially if it has some type of impact on voters, in this case I hope it doesn’t. It makes me happy to see that most of the people in this forum understand how critical this election is and most of them are heading in the right direction. If you care about this nation and maintaining our status in the world as the richest and most powerful nation please vote Democrat on this elections. Just remember how good life was when Clinton was president. Vote for Obama do it for our future and to save what’s left of our broken country.
Wow!!!!He's a nice guy, we went to Washington and talked about boxing!!!!!! Hello....please, please educate yourself about the issues that are going on in this country. If you want another 4years of our economy and health care system being a mess, not to mention the thousands of individuals loosing their homes and another four more years of war than by all means vote for McCain. No disrespect to the man for serving our country and a prisoner of war but he should be addressing the issues that are going on here in the United States. I suggest Daddy Yankee you need to read up on the candidates before you make a choice.
DY looks like the character Kevin Costner played in the movie "Swing Vote". The candidates research what attracts the PR community, and is using these tactics to get popular artists to get them to persuade the masses. DY is ignorantly being played! McCain is manipulating him! Wake up, DY! I was never sure why I never liked reggaeton, now I see the repetitive sounds coming from DY's 'political' mouth going down for the count, pun intended, like his music will in the next few years. GObama!!! McCain't...no puede!
Um, is anyone ever going to address the fact that as a citizen of the Island of Puerto Rico Daddy Yankee doesn't even have the right to VOTE in a US Presidential Election?!?! Yup, they can send the young Boricuas to the seemingly endless war in Iraq (if god forbid McCain does win) but no one in PR even has the opportunity to make a choice for change. So, essentially, thanks for your opinion Daddy, but it's not really going to make much of a difference since you can't back up any of your words with action. Although, given that Senor Yankee is really rich, maybe he's just thinking about all those tax breaks McCain plans on giving the millionaires!
I'm a fan of Daddy Yankee and i was in SHOCK when i saw the headline about him supporting McCain. But now after reading his reasons, I'm even more shocked and stunned!! I can't believe he's giving this man his vote for having boxing in common. Good, so he got a good first impression of him, but what does that have to do with what he has to offer as the US President. How dissapointing to see the ignorance from his part, especially since he's a latino. After 8yrs of Bush, how can you not notice that America is ready for a change. SI SE PUEDE!!! Obama for change!!!
I love this man(daddy Yankee) with all my heart and would have his children if he asked me, but can sombody school this man on the politic. He is basing his vote off of the man liking boxing. I dont think he knows what exactly McCain stands for. I hope and pray that other dont base the vote off of Daddy Yankee cause we will be up the creek for another 4 years messing with people like Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee endorse McCain?? The republican party has only shown disdain toward urban music and its artist. Daddy Yankee's endorsement is a testament of his ignorance on politics and his inability to look at real issues.
I think DY has lost his mind if he honestly thinks Mc Cain is going to help the latino community... obviously DY has missed out on all the times the republicans have ignored us latinos and minorities these past eight years. Que Verguenza!

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