Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appeared on Benny Johnson’s web interview series “The Benny Show” and warned that ICE agents will be present at the 2026 Super Bowl, where Bad Bunny is set to perform the Halftime Show.
Notably, the Halftime Show, presented by Apple Music, is Bad Bunny’s only U.S. concert appearance that’s set for 2026 at this time, 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.
When Johnson asked Lewandowski if “ICE will have enforcement at the Super Bowl” where Bad Bunny is performing, the Trump advisor responded: “There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. 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.”
Lewandowski has long been in Trump’s inner circle, first working as his campaign manager in 2016. He returned to the president’s campaign in 2024. Since Trump’s election, he has aligned himself with the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, serving as an adviser to DHS as a special government employee in the department.
“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 said 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.”
He concluded, “If there are illegal aliens, I don’t care if it’s a concert for Johnny Smith or Bad Bunny or anybody else. … We’re going to do enforcement everywhere. We are going to make Americans safe. That is a directive from the president. If you’re in this country illegally, go home.”
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.”
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times,” he added. “All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S. But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the U.S. … People from the U.S. could come here to see the show.”
Variety has reached out to Apple Music and representatives for Bad Bunny for comment.
