President Trump blasted Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl 2026 halftime performer Monday, calling the decision to tap the Puerto Rican superstar as the February headliner “absolutely ridiculous.”
When calling into Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports,” host Greg Kelly asked Trump if viewers should “entertain blowing off the NFL” in the wake of last month’s Super Bowl LX announcement, stating in part, “This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer and a lot of folks don’t even know who he is.”
“I never heard of him. 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 that they hired to pick up entertainment, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Trump, who also mocked the NFL’s new kickoff rules again.
A three-time Grammy winner and one of the most-streamed artists in the world, Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said the decision to perform on the NFL’s biggest stage is a moment that “goes beyond myself.”
“It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history,” he said in a statement.
Although the move has been celebrated, it has also sparked backlash from some politicians and pundits, including Danica Patrick and Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski, the latter of whom recently cautioned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be present.
Bad Bunny, who opted not to bring his tour to the U.S. over fears of ICE raids, hit back at critics over the weekend as part of his “Saturday Night Live” monologue.
“I’m really excited to be doing the Super Bowl, I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” he said before continuing in Spanish, “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. 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.”
The “Happy Gilmore 2” star, 31, then took a jab at detractors.
“If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” he said.
Roc Nation and Jesse Collins will executive produce the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.