President Donald Trump fumed at Bad Bunny’s halftime Super Bowl performance just minutes after the Latin superstar promoted love and less hate.
“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.”
Trump then complained that the superstar, from Puerto Rico, chose to sing in Spanish, whining that, “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
He added of the 31-year-old’s backup dancers, “and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.”
The president labeled the performance a “‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day,” before rattling off examples of his supposed accomplishments.
“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 added, before throwing in his opinions on a contentious change. “By the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule.”
Trump’s criticism comes as MAGA said it was turning off from the show in support of the president, who claimed the choice of Bad Bunny was “terrible” in an interview with the New York Post last month. Instead, Trump supporters said they were tuning into the “All-American Halftime Show,” a conservative alternative by Turning Point USA that featured Kid Rock as its headliner, who lip-synced his way through his set.
Bad Bunny, however, took to the Super Bowl stage promoting unity and love while highlighting his Puerto Rican roots. Joining him on stage in surprise performances were Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin.
His performance featured a display of pan-American unity as he shouted, “God bless America,” before listing every country in North and South America, accompanied by dancers bearing each country’s flag.
The performance came exactly one week after Bad Bunny used his acceptance speech at the Grammys to condemn the president’s immigration crackdown, starting his speech by declaring “ICE Out” and imploring people to remember that “hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love,” a message that was then displayed on a billboard during his halftime performance.
In response, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Bad Bunny for “trying to demonize law enforcement who work for the United States government trying to enforce our nation’s laws” following his speech.
“You didn’t hear this same type of uproar from celebrities in Hollywood when the previous administration allowed an invasion of our nation’s borders.”
Trump, who is facing increasing pressure to dial back his controversial immigration crackdown, has even admitted that federal immigration officers, including those responsible for killing Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, could “use a softer touch.”
“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch,” the president told NBC’s Tom Llamas in an interview on Wednesday. “But you still have to be tough.”
The president has also faced significant criticism, including from members of his own party, after posting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as apes to Truth Social on Friday. He blamed a staffer for the post but declined to apologize.
