Donald Trump said during an interview on NewsMax’s “Greg Kelly Reports” (via Entertainment Weekly) that it’s “absolutely ridiculous” that Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, even though Trump also admitted that he’s “never heard” of the global music star.
“The NFL just chose the Bad Bunny rabbit or whatever his name is,” Kelly told Trump. “This guy, who hates ICE, he doesn’t like you, he accuses everything he doesn’t like of racism.”
“I’ve never heard of him,” Trump responded. “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.”
The NFL and Apple Music announced Sept. 28 that Bad Bunny will be the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show performer. The announcement was notable as the Super Bowl is now Bad Bunny’s only U.S. concert appearance that’s set for 2026, as his highly-anticipated Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, which is scheduled to run from December through July 2026, is not stopping in the States. Bad Bunny told I-D magazine last month that his fear of ICE raids was part of the reason why he skipped touring in the U.S.
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was quick to condemn the selection of Bad Bunny and was the first to threaten that ICE agents would be present at the Super Bowl next year.
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else,” Lewandowski said. “We will find you and apprehend you and put you in a detention facility and deport you. Know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be.”
“It’s so shameful they’ve decided to pick somebody who seems to hate America so much to represent them at the Halftime Show,” Lewandowski added about Bad Bunny. “We should be trying to be inclusive, not exclusive. There are plenty of great bands and entertainment people who could be playing at that show that would be bringing people together and not separating them.”
Lewandowski thoughts were then echoed by other conservative figures, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She said on the Benny Johnson’s podcast that ICE will be “all over that place,” referring to the 2026 Super Bowl, and has every intention to “enforce the law” at the event.
“I have the responsibility for making sure that everybody [who] goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave. And that’s what America is about,” Noem added.
While Bad Bunny has not yet put out an official statement reacting to the MAGA backlash against his Super Bowl Halftime Show, he did comment on the controversy while hosting “SNL” on Oct. 3
“I’m very happy,” Bad Bunny said of the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl. “And I think everyone is happy about it. Even Fox News.”
Bad Bunny then said the following in Spanish: “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors,” Bad Bunny said in Spanish. “It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
“If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” he finished in English as the audience cheered.
Speaking to I-D last month, Bad Bunny explained that part of the reason he did his Puerto Rico residency and will continue to tour around the world without stopping in the U.S. is because “fucking ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
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