Donald Trump slammed Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance, but everyone is pointing out the same thing about his criticism.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday night, but as has become tradition, much of the conversation wasn’t about what happened on the field.
This year’s Super Bowl halftime show became one of the most polarizing cultural moments in recent memory, sparking fierce debate across social media and dividing viewers along sharp cultural and political lines.
For the first time in Super Bowl history, viewers had a choice between two competing halftime shows, each representing starkly different visions of American culture and entertainment.
A historic performance
Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, made history as the first male solo Latin artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show and the first to perform an entire set in Spanish.
His performance featured high-profile guest appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, along with cameos from Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Karol G, and Jessica Alba.
Bad Bunny performed a medley of his biggest hits, including ‘Tití Me Preguntó,’ ‘MONACO,’ and ‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE,’ with set designs that transported viewers through Latin-inspired landscapes ranging from nail salons to neighborhood bars.
While the performance was primarily in Spanish, Bad Bunny made two statements in English during the show. One message appeared on a billboard reading: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Another was written on a football he held during the set: “Together, We Are America.”
The performance marked the first time Bad Bunny had performed in the US since releasing his Grammy Award-winning album ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos).’
Many viewers praised the cultural significance of the moment and celebrated the representation of Latin culture on one of America’s biggest stages.
California Governor Gavin Newsom even declared February 8 ‘Bad Bunny Day,’ while celebrities, including Katy Perry, publicly celebrated the performance as a vibrant showcase of diversity and the American dream.
Turning Point USA’s ‘All-American’ show
In a first for the Super Bowl, conservative organization Turning Point USA streamed a rival ‘All-American Halftime Show’ as a counter-programming alternative to the NFL’s official broadcast.
Headlined by Kid Rock and featuring country artists Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, the event was promoted around themes of ‘faith, family and freedom.’
The show began with a guitar solo of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ followed by performances of ‘Real American’ and ‘Dirt Road Anthem.’
Kid Rock closed out the show with a short set that included his 1999 hit ‘Bawitdaba’ and ended with a cover of Cody Johnson’s ‘Til You Can’t.’
The 30-minute broadcast, which ran a few minutes into the third quarter of the Super Bowl, drew roughly four million viewers on YouTube.
While this was a significant number for an online stream, it paled in comparison to the NFL’s official halftime show, which typically draws around 127 million viewers. Last year, Kendrick Lamar set a record with 133.5 million viewers.
The alternative show wasn’t without its own controversies.
Almost immediately, social media users criticized the performance as rushed and awkwardly cut short.
“Nice lip syncing,” one viewer wrote, while another asked: “Did Kid Rock just badly lip sync through his song? Or was my stream messed up?”
Even more damaging to the ‘family-friendly’ event, social media users began resurfacing controversial lyrics from Kid Rock’s past, including a 2001 song that references underage girls and old footage from Saturday Night Live where he made inappropriate comments about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen when they were 14 years old.
A divided audience
The dual halftime shows highlighted deep cultural divisions in America.
Bad Bunny’s performance drew sharp criticism from some viewers who struggled to connect with a show performed in Spanish, with many taking to social media to voice their complaints.
“This by Bad Bunny is literally the worst halftime performance in Super Bowl history,” one viewer wrote.
Another added: “Bad Bunny was terrible. Couldn’t understand one word. Not even the performance was good. Two out of ten. Probably the worst halftime show of all time.”
Some framed the Spanish-language performance as a political statement. “The NFL having a Super Bowl halftime show where their performer sings entirely in Spanish and waves other nation’s flags is 100% a political statement,” one post read.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul called for a boycott hours before kickoff, labeling Bad Bunny a ‘fake American citizen who hates America,’ a claim his brother Logan Paul echoed.
However, Puerto Ricans have held US citizenship since the 1917 Jones-Shafroth Act, and both Paul brothers currently live in Puerto Rico, where Jake Paul owns property for tax reasons.
Supporters of Bad Bunny’s performance pushed back forcefully against the criticism, pointing out what they saw as double standards and thinly veiled prejudice.
“You know what’s funny about this Bad Bunny ‘outrage’?” one person wrote. “We’ve had several ACTUAL non-American performers in the history of the halftime show – The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Rihanna, The Weeknd, U2 – and there wasn’t an issue. Folks just out here yapping.”
Others defended the performance on its artistic merits. “Bad Bunny’s was exactly what we needed,” one penned, while another commented: “Everyone hating on Bad Bunny doing the Super Bowl halftime show is so weird. If you can’t shake a**, just say that.”
Trump weighs in
President Donald Trump, who was hosting his own Super Bowl watch party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida, didn’t wait long to share his opinion.
Approximately 30 minutes after Bad Bunny’s performance ended, Trump posted a lengthy rant on Truth Social.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!” Trump wrote. “It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.”
He continued: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World. This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History! 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.”
Trump had previously said the halftime show headliner was one of the reasons he was staying away from Levi’s Stadium.
“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” Trump said of Bad Bunny and Green Day, who opened the event.
After it was first announced that Bad Bunny would headline the game last year, Trump called the pick ‘absolutely ridiculous’ and said he had never heard of the artist.
The irony everyone noticed
But here’s the thing that has social media users laughing: Trump’s detailed critique of Bad Bunny’s performance made it abundantly clear that he was watching the NFL’s official halftime show – rather than the Turning Point USA alternative featuring Kid Rock, an artist Trump has vocally supported in the past.
Despite the availability of a conservative-backed ‘All-American’ alternative that aligned perfectly with his political base and featured performers who share his worldview, Trump apparently chose to watch – and live-tweet his reactions to – the very performance he claimed to despise.
The irony was not lost on social media users, who quickly began mocking the President for hate-watching Bad Bunny instead of supporting the Turning Point USA show.
The contradiction is particularly striking given Trump’s previous vocal support for Kid Rock – yet when it came down to it, on one of the biggest nights in American sports, Trump’s attention was firmly fixed on the mainstream NFL broadcast and Bad Bunny’s historic performance.
For all the talk of cultural alternatives and parallel institutions, when it really mattered, even Trump couldn’t resist watching the main event – even if only to complain about it afterward.
Amid all the heated arguments about language, representation, and what belongs on America’s biggest stage, there’s one undeniable fact: everyone was watching. Even those who claimed they weren’t.
