If you're a politician from Florida and considering a run for the presidency, an endorsement from rap superstar Pitbull may be helpful, given the musician's deep ties to Florida's Hispanic community. It seems that Jeb Bush understands this.
While walking in Washington DC last week, Jeb Bush was approached by a reporter from TMZ . The reporter asked Bush, if he had his choice of anyone in history, dead or alive, who the former governor would like to attend a baseball game with.
Bush's first choice was President Theodore Roosevelt, but then Bush made a more surprising choice saying, “I might want to have Pitbull, too.”
It's unclear if Bush is a Pitbull fan, but Pitbull is more than just a performer and a sports fan. He is also the ambassador for the Sports Leadership and Management Academy, which is a charter school in Miami's little Havana district with an emphasis on sports-related majors.
Jeb isn't the only one with his eyes on the presidency who seems too be going after the highly-coveted Pitbull vote.
Senator and announced presidential candidate Marco Rubio(R-FL), who has a well-known love of hip-hop, claims to be on a first name basis with Pitbull.
"Pitbull's become a friend and someone that we're very proud of," said Rubio in an interview with the Washington Post in April
Whether Rubio calls him "Pitbull" or uses his real name, Armando Perez, is unclear.
Despite the fact that these two candidates appear to be big fans of "Mr. Worldwide" (Pitbull's other nickname), it is unlikely that the star will get involved and provide an endorsement to either candidate.
“I’m not here to be part of any political party,” Pitbull said in a February article, by Buzz Feed News. “I’m here to bring political parties to my party because they can’t, they won’t, they never will, stop the Pitbull party, Dale!”
Fair enough.
Still, showing that a candidate is knowledgeable about pop culture certainly couldn't hurt when it comes to appealing to the youth voters who help decide elections.
While she hasn't come out publicly and said she is a fan, it appears that Hillary Clinton may have really liked the band "Hootie and the Blowfish" when she was first lady.
Of course, Hootie hasn't released an album in years, so it's unclear how well this will play to the younger demographic.