The president claimed to have “never heard” of multi-Grammy award winning artist Bad Bunny who will play at the Super Bowl Halftime Show on 8 February
Trump has said he will not watch the Super Bowl – the biggest night in American Football – this year as Bad Bunny takes to the stage for the halftime show.
The president has claimed he has “never heard” of the Puerto Rican artist, despite his multiple Grammy awards, film roles in major movies like Bullet Train and Happy Gilmore 2, and his stint on WWE, which Trump has also appeared on. He has also called the decision to make Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martinez Ocasio, this year’s halftime performer “ridiculous”.
The musician is no fan of the President – taking his sold out world tour across the globe but refusing to play a single date in America. Ahead of the Super Bowl halftime show (8 February), here’s a look at the pair’s war of words…
READ MORE: NFL respond to Bad Bunny’s ICE protests as statement released ahead of Super Bowl LXREAD MORE: Grammy Awards 2026: Winners list, red carpet arrivals and biggest scandals
Trump’s immigration policies
The Trump administration has increased the power of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enact widespread raids and rolled back immigrant protections in the country. The crackdown has been highly criticised by people in America and worldwide, sparking protests in US, particularly after mother Renee Good was shot dead by an ICE agent and nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed, both in Minneapolis.
Bad Bunny, who is from Puerto Rico, a self-governing island that is classed as a US territory, chose not to schedule any US stops for his latest tour. He explained in September that he did not want to perform in the US because of ICE.
Talking to I-D, he said: “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate. But there was the issue of—like, f***ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
At the Grammys, when accepting an award, Bad Bunny continued to criticise ICE. He said: “Before I thank God, I just want to say: ICE out.” He added that Puerto Ricans are “not savages, not animals, not aliens – we are humans and we are Americans”.
Bad Bunny ‘takes swipe’ at Trump in music video
Bad Bunny appeared to take a swipe at the president in the music video for is son NUEVAYoL. Released on 4 July, the video saw a Puerto Rican flag hanging over the Statue of Liberty as a voice that sounds like Trump says: “I made a mistake. I want to apologise to the immigrants in America.
“I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans …”
This is not the first time Bad Bunny has been vocal about not supporting Trump. He has criticised the president for his administration’s response to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico, even going so far as to wear a T-shirt that asked: “Are you a Tweeter or a President?” He has also called for sovereignty for Puerto Rico.
Bad Bunny has said that his Super Bowl performance will focus on “unity”. The official trailer shows him dancing with performers ranging in ages and backgrounds.
Some think he will use the halftime show to take a swipe at Trump again. It would not be the first time the performance was political. The performance follows Kendrick Lamar’s last year, in which the staging was designed so that dancers dress in red, white and blue were arranged to display a divided American flag after Lamar said: “The revolution ’bout to be televised”.
Trump’s MAGA allies criticise the Super Bowl’s halftime show choice
Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who is now an advisor at the Department of Homeland Security, suggested ICE agents may be at the Super Bowl.
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally,” he said on a conservative podcast hosted by YouTuber Benny Johnson in October. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, added that the NFL was “so weak” for picking Bad Bunny and said he would be “all over” the Super Bowl.
“I have the responsibility to make sure everybody who goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave safely. That’s what America’s about,” Noem said. “We’ll be all over that place.”
Trump won’t watch the Super Bowl
After Bad Bunny was announced as the performer in September, Trump called the decision “crazy”. “I don’t know who he is,” he said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, added that the president would not be watching the halftime show. “I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny,” Leavitt said in a response to a question about the upcoming performance.
This came as Turning Point USA, which was founded by Charlie Kirk, has shared that it has organised its own halftime show with Kid Rock, a Trump supporter, performing.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
