President Donald Trump does not seem eager to fuel MAGA’s rage over the NFL’s decision to tap Bad Bunny for next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Trump called into Greg Kelly Reports on Newsmax Monday night, where the host teed up the issue by describing the Puerto Rican megastar as “this guy who hates ICE” and “not a unifying entertainer.” Kelly even floated the idea of an NFL boycott, which Trump did not entertain.
“I’ve never heard of him,” Trump said. “I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s crazy. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
It was a notably measured response compared to the pile-on from Trumpworld. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised on conservative podcaster Benny Johnson’s show that agents would be “all over” Levi’s Stadium during the February game.
Asked for a message to the NFL, she added, “They suck and we’ll win and God will bless us.”
Johnson himself has casted the singer as an “anti-ICE activist” and a “massive Trump hater,” and conservative commentator Megyn Kelly said she planned to boycott the halftime show.
Bad Bunny—whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—was born in Puerto Rico, making him a U.S. citizen. But that hasn’t stopped MAGA influencers from using his booking to stoke anti-immigrant outrage.
The 30-year-old artist, who recently hosted Saturday Night Live and is currently on a blockbuster global tour, has said he’s cancelled his U.S. shows out of fear that ICE would arrest people at them.
“People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world,” he told i-D magazine. “There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate.”
“I’ve performed [in the U.S.] many times,” he added. “I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the United States.”
During his Saturday Night live appearance, the megastar quipped that everyone was happy about him being named the headliner for the big game – “even Fox news.”
He then said a few sentences in Spanish, which translated into an expression of pride and joy over the achievement, after which he noted: “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn!” Bad Bunny will be making history by performing his set entirely in Spanish.
During his interview, Trump changed the subject away from the “King of Latin Trap.” Instead of dwelling on Bad Bunny, he veered into an unrelated grievance: a new NFL kickoff rule.
“It just looks terrible,” he said. “I think it really demeans football.”