Ricky Martin says when it comes to the Latino support of Joe Biden for president, voters bang. He also says those who are voting for Donald Trump completely bomb.

In an interview with The Big Ticket podcast, the “Livin La Vida Loca” singer highlighted the importance of voter turnout and laid out his reasons for giving former Vice President Joe Biden his own vote.

Speaking to The Big Ticket, Martin underlined his efforts to see change this year.

“I’ve been supporting Biden forever,” the singer shared on the podcast. “I think he is the only option we have and he is great. He has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation.” For Martin, it seems that the backing of Biden by the Latino community is especially important and seeing anything less is something he truly cannot understand. Martin went so far as to highlight his disbelief in seeing Wanda Vázquez, the current governor of Puerto Rico, endorsing Trump this year.

“Who is that? Next!” he exclaimed during the podcast. “She doesn’t even exist. She wasn’t even elected by the people. She’s not part of this conversation.”

Trump went onto call Latinos in the United States who support Trump “really scary.”

When asked about Latinos in the United States who support Trump, Martin said it’s “really scary” to see but he remains positive that the majority of Latinos will vote him out of office.

“It’s really scary,” he said, before commenting that he does think that the majority of Latinos will vote for Biden. “It’s super sad. I think. Trumpeters make a lot of noise. And it’s scary to see their enthusiasm but us, we’re doing what’s right, the right way and we’ll see what happens in November. But I’m very optimistic.”

“I am a Latino, gay, married to an Arab living in Trump’s America,” he said about his husband Jwan Yosef, a Syrian-born, Swedish painter Marin married in 2017. “We check all the boxes.”

Martin’s comments come at a time when Trump continues to receive support from Cubans in Florida.

The battleground state has seen Cuban Americans, who often vote Republican, make last-ditch efforts to reelect Trump. “Florida’s Cuban American voters remain a bright spot in Trump’s effort to retain his winning coalition from 2016,” ABC reported. “Polls show his strong support from these key voters may even be growing to include the younger Cuban Americans that Democrats once considered their best hope of breaking the GOP’s hold. For Trump, that support could prove essential in a tight race in a state he must win to beat Democratic challenger Joe Biden.”

Referring to the increase in early voters this year, Martin says he’s happy to see voters turning out. “For that, I’m extremely happy,” he explained. “We’ve had plans of if we might leave the country. No, we have to stay here and fight for our rights and for what we believe.”

You can check out Martin’s full interview with The Big Ticket on Nov. 3.

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One quick Google search of ‘Joe Biden’ and ‘Latino’ shows that the former VP – who is running for president this year – has a serious issue with the Latino vote. There is story after story about his lack of support among the Latinx community and suggestions on what he needs to do if he wants the community’s vote – which he’ll need if he wants to win in November.

Recently, however, the tide may be shifting as several prominent Latino advocacy organizations have lined up to support Biden in his campaign for the presidency. This week another prominent Latina voice has added her name to the growing list of advocates showing up to support Biden in 2020.

Labor and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta endorsed Joe Biden for president, giving him the backing of one of the nation’s most prominent Latina leaders.

We’re honored to have labor and civil rights activist, Dolores Huerta, fighting alongside us to unify our nation and elect @JoeBiden. Racism and hate will have no safe harbor in a Biden administration.https://t.co/IxUCvZf3wl

— Team Joe (Text JOE to 30330) (@TeamJoe) May 1, 2020

Dolores Huerta, the labor and civil rights leader who co-founded what eventually became the United Farm Workers union, endorsed Joe Biden for president on Friday.

Huerta, who is based in Bakersfield and is one of the nation’s most prominent Latino activists, offered her support on International Workers Day and as Biden’s campaign seeks to improve support among Latino voters. She said on Friday that Biden has been a “staunch advocate for labor” and has prioritized Latinos.

In a statement, the activist added, “At a time when the current White House has used fear mongering and racist rhetoric towards Latinos, Joe has made it clear that he will fight to protect and advance our community.”

Huerta’s new endorsement is a change from recent quotes about the former VP and illustrates just how important it is to defeat Trump in November.

Dolores Huerta's endorsement gives Kamala Harris a leading voice in the labor movement and among Latinos nationally https://t.co/Xq1osoA3sa

— POLITICO (@politico) February 15, 2019

In her endorsement, Huerta said she promised to do everything “humanly possible” to get Joe Biden elected come November, changing what had been her record during the campaign up to this point.

In fact, just a few months ago, Huerta had endorsed Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) for president and had criticized Biden for his lack of concrete answers about the needs of Latinos across the country. She even accused him of “talking just like the Republicans.”

With her endorsement of Biden, Huerta is making one thing very clear: We have to get rid of President Donald Trump, whatever it takes.

However, Biden still has a serious issue with Latino voters – will this endorsement really matter?

It is high time the Democrats focus on the Latino vote; proud of Joe Biden! https://t.co/pLmQo1pjOD Joe Biden, seeking to unify the party and generate voter enthusiasm in November is trying to make rapid inroads with Latinos, many of whom were Sander's supporters. #Biden2020

— Gina "I'm A Biden Democrat" (@TexasBluein20) April 30, 2020

Just a couple of months ago Biden’s campaign was on life support. He was barely polling at all in several key states. That all changed when he won the South Carolina primary with the help of the state’s large African-American population.

Despite his subsequent wins across the country, Biden continued to trail Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), his main rival for the nomination, among Latinos for much of the primary. Biden’s campaign attributed the gap to a lack of financial resources that made it difficult to reach voters, but the former vice president also faced protests over the Obama administration’s deportation of nearly 3 million immigrants who were in the country illegally.

At a July 31 Democratic debate, Biden also found himself at odds with rival candidates who said crossing the border without permission should be a civil violation, not a criminal act. “If you cross the border illegally, you should be able to be sent back. It’s a crime,” Biden said.

But Latino support for the former VP seems to be increasing as the November election fast approaches.

This Sunday night, settle in and join labor leader Dolores Huerta, actor John Leguizamo, Secretary Hilda Solis, and Congresswoman Escobar for a #TodosConBiden discussion. Tune in now: https://t.co/o7qCPrYivT

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 3, 2020

In the weeks since Sanders suspended his campaign, Latino groups — including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ BOLD PAC and Voto Latino, a voter registration group founded in 2004 — have started to coalesce around Biden.

María Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino’s president and chief executive, told the LA Times that the group decided to back Biden with its first-ever endorsement after he sent a 22-page document answering questions on his positions on student debt, the environment, immigration, criminal justice reform and the modernization of electoral systems. 

The group is now talking to his campaign about how to address the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the Latino community. “We want him to think boldly, because it’s the time for that leadership to help get our country out of where we are,” Kumar said.

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