Trump declares war on the NFL halftime show
The Super Bowl just lost its biggest VIP. Donald Trump has officially announced he is boycotting Super Bowl LX, and he is not going quietly. The -year-old President is taking a massive swipe at the league’s choice of entertainment, labeling the upcoming performances by Bad Bunny and Green Day as nothing short of “terrible.” In a move that has sent shockwaves through both Washington and the sports world, Trump made it clear he has zero interest in witnessing the spectacle at Levi’s Stadium on February .
Speaking to the New York Post, the President did not hold back, stating, “I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.” It is a stunning reversal from just last year, when Trump became the first sitting president to actually attend the game in person. Sources say the President’s inner circle has been fuming over the NFL‘s decision to hand the world’s biggest stage to artists who have been openly critical of his administration’s policies.
While Trump cited the distance to Santa Clara, California—calling the trip “just too far away”—insiders tell us the distance is the least of his concerns. This is a full-blown culture war play. By skipping the game, Trump is signaling to his base that he won’t support a league that he believes has gone “woke” by hiring a Spanish-speaking headliner and a punk band known for bashing the MAGA agenda. The NFL is now caught in the crossfire of a political firestorm that is threatening to overshadow the game itself.
Bad Bunny backlash reaches a fever pitch
The selection of Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has been a lightning rod for controversy since the moment it was announced. Conservative pundits and influencers have been screaming “un-American” from the rooftops, despite the fact that the Grammy-winning superstar is a legal U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico. The tension has been brewing for months, especially after Bad Bunny used his platform to criticize the administration’s aggressive ICE operations.
Things got even more heated when former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick jumped into the fray. Patrick took to X to complain that “no songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events.” She doubled down on her stance during a recent podcast appearance, arguing that while she doesn’t care where an artist is born, she wants music she can “sing along to.” Her comments sparked a viral firestorm, with fans of the reggeton king calling her “xenophobic” while supporters praised her for “standing up for American culture.”
The stats don’t lie, though—Bad Bunny is a global juggernaut. He was the most-streamed artist on Spotify for three years straight, and his “Un Verano Sin Ti” album broke nearly every record in the book. But for Trump and his allies, the numbers don’t matter as much as the message. The President’s supporters are pointing to the singer’s activism as a direct attack on the administration, making his presence at the halftime show a non-starter for the MAGA crowd.
Bad Bunny is a global icon and he is American! If you can’t handle a halftime show in Spanish in , you’re the one who is out of touch.
Green Day joins the “hatred” list
If Bad Bunny wasn’t enough to trigger a boycott, the addition of Green Day to the pregame lineup certainly did the trick. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has never been one to hide his political leanings, famously swapping lyrics in “American Idiot” to blast the “MAGA agenda” during past performances. Trump’s “sow hatred” comment is widely seen as a direct shot at the punk legends, who are set to help usher NFL legends onto the field during the opening ceremony.
The NFL is clearly trying to balance “global music” with “legacy,” but Trump isn’t buying it. The league’s Chief Events Officer, Tim Tubito, described the Green Day booking as a “landmark occasion,” but for the White House, it looks more like an intentional jab. Armstrong has been vocal about his support for protests against the administration’s immigration policies, which have recently come under fire following reports of deaths in ICE custody.
According to Vera Institute analysis, over , people were detained in the first year of Trump’s second term—a percent jump from the previous year. The agency reportedly hit a grim record with deaths in custody in . With that backdrop, having a band like Green Day perform just before kickoff is being viewed by some as a political statement by a league that is supposed to be neutral. Trump’s boycott is his way of saying he’s not going to be a prop in their show.
Goodell refuses to fumble under pressure
Despite the high-level shade coming from the White House, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is standing his ground. Goodell addressed the backlash during the league’s fall meeting, making it clear that the NFL is not reconsidering its headline performer. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” Goodell said of Bad Bunny. “That’s what we try to achieve. It’s an important stage for us.”
The Commissioner seemed unfazed by the Presidential snub, noting that the league has never selected an artist without receiving some level of blowback. Goodell is banking on the “united moment” that a global superstar can provide, even if that unity doesn’t extend to the Pennsylvania Avenue. The NFL‘s partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has been leaning heavily into diverse talent, and they aren’t about to let political pressure dictate their playbook.
But the pressure isn’t just coming from the top. Groups like Turning Point USA have already announced counter-programming for the halftime show, and petitions to replace Bad Bunny are circulating online with thousands of signatures. The league is facing a PR nightmare: how to celebrate a historic th anniversary while the sitting President and a significant chunk of the audience are actively rooting for the show to fail.
Goodell needs to realize that the Super Bowl is for ALL Americans. Hiring people who hate half the country isn’t ‘unity,’ it’s an insult.
SNL skit adds fuel to the fire
Bad Bunny himself isn’t backing down from the fight. During a recent hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, the singer turned the criticism into comedy. He joked about being the halftime performer, telling the audience, “I think everyone is very happy about it! Even Fox News…” before the show played a hilariously edited montage of news clips praising him. He ended the segment with a spicy message for his critics: “If you didn’t understand now what I just said, you have four months to learn!”
That “learn Spanish” comment went nuclear on social media, with many viewing it as a direct challenge to the “English-only” crowd. For Trump, who has built his political identity on border security and “America First” rhetoric, this was likely the final straw. The President’s refusal to attend the game is being seen as a direct response to what he perceives as a disrespectful attitude from the halftime star.
Insiders say the White House was also miffed by a mock video Bad Bunny released titled “On February th, the world will dance.” The clip promoted “cultural openness,” which many in the administration viewed as a thinly veiled critique of their travel bans and deportation quotas. The President’s boycott ensures that the only “dancing” he’ll be doing on Super Bowl Sunday will be far away from Levi’s Stadium.
Levi’s Stadium: A fortress or a war zone?
With the President out and the cultural divide in, security at Levi’s Stadium is being ramped up to unprecedented levels. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has already signaled that ICE will be present at the game, a move that the NFL reportedly finds deeply concerning. The prospect of federal agents conducting enforcement operations at a major sporting event has the league on edge, with some fearing it could lead to protests or even violence outside the gates.
Trump’s decision to skip the game might actually be a relief for the Secret Service, but it leaves a massive vacuum in the VIP suites. Normally, a Super Bowl in the San Francisco Bay Area is a networking goldmine for politicians and tech moguls, but the Trump boycott is forcing people to pick sides. If you’re in that stadium on February , you’re either with the NFL’s “global vision” or you’re with the President’s “America First” protest.
As the clock ticks down to kickoff, the question isn’t just who will win the Lombardi Trophy, but what kind of statement Bad Bunny and Green Day will make once the cameras are rolling. Will they play it safe, or will they use the -million-plus audience to deliver a final blow to the President who snubbed them? One thing is for sure: Donald Trump will be watching from a distance, ready to fire off his review in real-time.
Would you like me to look into whether any other major political figures are joining Trump’s boycott, or if any Republican governors are planning to attend in his place?
