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When Bad Bunny was first announced as this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performer, former President Donald Trump claimed he didn’t know who the artist was. But after the Puerto Rican artist delivered an instantly iconic, unapologetic display of his Puerto Rican heritage, Latino unity, and the resilience of a unified community, the former president has taken notice—and is now publicly criticizing the performance.
Trump Lashes Out at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Show
The former president, who once downplayed knowing the artist, condemned the halftime show as “an affront to the greatness of America.”
- Trump, who has frequently targeted Latino communities with his rhetoric, criticized Bad Bunny’s performance as lacking “Success, Creativity, or Excellence.”
- The artist performed entirely in Spanish, a deliberate choice seen by many as a celebration of Latino identity and a direct message to the former president.
- Just a week prior, Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech to call for an end to ICE’s targeting of immigrant communities.
- The White House had previously announced Trump would skip the Super Bowl halftime show in favor of an alternative event headlined by Kid Rock.
The former president, who has long made Latinos and Hispanics central to his political messaging, has spent the past year focusing on immigration enforcement—including mass deportations, arbitrary detention, and racial profiling. Bad Bunny—who performed entirely in Spanish—did not directly mention Trump or his administration, but the halftime show sent a clear message: Latinos are an integral part of America.
In a lengthy message posted to Truth Social shortly after the halftime show ended, Trump wrote that the performance was “an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.” He added, “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting. This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country […] There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD.”
He concluded by calling for the NFL to “immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule.”
The criticism followed a public announcement from the White House that Trump would not be watching the halftime show, opting instead to attend Turning Point USA’s alternative “Real American Halftime Show,” headlined by Kid Rock.
Just a week before the Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny used his Grammy Awards acceptance speech—where his album Debí Tirar Más Fotos won Album of The Year—to draw attention to ICE’s targeting and abuse of immigrant communities. “Before I say, ‘Thanks to God,’ I’m going to say, ‘ICE out,’” Bad Bunny declared. The artist had previously excluded American cities from his album tour, citing concerns that his concerts—popular among all demographics but particularly Hispanics and Latinos—would be targeted by ICE and increased immigration enforcement.
It appears the former president—like many who claimed to be boycotting the halftime show—couldn’t resist watching one of the world’s most popular artists, even if only to express outrage.
