Bad Bunny's halftime show at the Super Bowl has got many fans buzzing, but US President Donald Trump isn't among them as he released a lengthy statement moaning about it.
Trump also took a swipe at the 'ridiculous new kickoff rule', but his most recent post on Truth Social was about how he thought the show was 'absolutely terrible' and he couldn't understand it.
The halftime show was in Spanish, as Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican and that's his first language, but Trump was evidently not having a good time.
He said: "The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence.
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"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.
"And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Trump wasn't at this year's Super Bowl as he said it was 'just too far away' for him to attend and claimed he would have gone if it was 'shorter'.
However, he also made it clear he wasn't a fan of the music acts booked to perform at the Super Bowl, saying: "I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible."
While Bad Bunny had the halftime show, Green Day opened the Super Bowl with a medley of their songs where they didn't sing the verse of 'American Idiot' that called out Trump.
In recent years, the band have switched the line 'I'm not a part of a redneck agenda' to 'I'm not a part of the MAGA agenda', but they left that bit out at the start of the Super Bowl.
However, Green Day did perform a few days ago where they sent a message to the Trump administration.
"This goes out to all the ICE agents out there, wherever you are," Billie Joe Armstrong said.
"Quit that s****y job you have. Because when this is over, and it will be over at some point in time, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, JD Vance, Donald Trump, they're gonna drop you like a bad f*****g habit. Come on this side of the line."
Donald Trump and Bad Bunny’s ‘beef’ explained
Bad Bunny has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and his policies over the years, particularly regarding immigration and his native Puerto Rico. Let’s take a look at where it all began…
Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico
In 2017, the federal government faced backlash for its slow and disorganised response to the aftermath of the storm, which caused widespread destruction, power outages and thousands of deaths.
During a benefit concert, Bad Bunny donned a T-shirt reading ‘¿Eres Twittero o Presidente?’ which translates to ‘Are You a Tweeter or President?’
Seven years later, he released the track ‘Una Velita’, which appeared to hit out at the Trump administration’s handling of the disaster.
The translated lyrics say: “They let 5,000 people die / And we will never forget that.”
Bad Bunny endorses Kamala Harris
During the run-up to the 2024 US election, Bad Bunny showed his support for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The musician posted a clip of the vice president’s plans for Puerto Rico not long after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the territory as a ‘floating island of garbage’ at a Trump rally.
A Trump campaign spokesperson later said: “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
‘NUEVAYoL’ music video throws shade at Trump
In the music video for ‘NUEVAYoL’, released on the Fourth of July last year, Bad Bunny appeared to take a not-so-subtle swipe at the US president.
Following a shot of a Puerto Rican flag draped on the Statue of Liberty, a voice that sounds suspiciously similar to Trump can be heard saying: “I made a mistake. I want to apologise to the immigrants in America. I mean the United States – I know America is the whole continent.
“I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans…”
Bad Bunny skips US on world tour
Bad Bunny opted to leave mainland US out of his world tour due to concerns over ICE following immigration crackdowns amid Trump’s return to office.
“There were many reasons why I didn't show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate,” he told I-D magazine in September. “But there was the issue of – like, [expletive] ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it's something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
NFL announces Bad Bunny as Super Bowl halftime act
Moments before the Super Bowl announcement, Bad Bunny tweeted in Spanish that after ‘thinking these last few days, I think I'll do one date in the United States’.
In a statement, he said his performance would be for ‘my people, my culture, and our history’.
Despite excitement from fans and the NFL calling the decision ‘carefully thought through’, the move sparked backlash from critics unhappy about a Spanish-speaking artist headlining the biggest American sporting event of the year.
Seemingly forgetting that Puerto Rico is in fact a US territory, one conservative commentator labelled Bad Bunny ‘anti-American’ while petitions to replace him were created, and Turning Point USA, the right-wing organisation founded by the late Charlie Kirk, even announced it would be hosting a rival halftime show.
‘I’ve never heard of him’
Trump also weighed in on the global music icon performing at the Super Bowl, telling Newsmax's Greg Kelly: “I’ve never heard of him.
“I don’t know who he is… I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment — I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Bad Bunny shuts down critics on Saturday Night Live
During his SNL opening monologue in October, Bad Bunny jokingly addressed conservative backlash over his upcoming halftime show.
“You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show and I’m very happy,” he said. “I think everyone is happy about it - even Fox News.”
After delivering a heartfelt message in Spanish, he switched back to English and told viewers ‘if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn’.
Trumps benches himself from Super Bowl
In January, the POTUS confirmed that he would not be attending the Super Bowl while slamming the performers.
“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” he told the New York Post of Bad Bunny and Green Day - another longtime critic of his.
However, Trump insisted this was not the reason for his absence, adding that ‘it’s just too far away’.
Bad Bunny calls out ICE in Grammys speech
Bad Bunny made history at the 2026 Grammys by becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year for a Spanish-language release.
He also picked up two other awards and used his time on stage to share a message of hope amid nationwide protests against the actions of ICE.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ‘ICE OUT’. We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we’re Americans,” the rapper said, before adding: “The only thing that's more powerful than hate is love.”
Topics: Bad Bunny, Super Bowl, Donald Trump, NFL, Music
Joe Harker