President Donald Trump issued a scathing rebuke of Sunday night’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, calling the performance by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny “absolutely terrible” and “an affront to the Greatness of America” in a fiery Truth Social post that has reignited debates over cultural representation and presidential conduct.
Writing shortly after the reggaeton icon concluded his set at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Trump unleashed a multi-paragraph critique that aimed at nearly every aspect of the production, from the music itself to the choreography and the NFL’s programming choices.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst EVER!” the president wrote. “It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of success, creativity, or excellence.”
Trump’s most pointed criticism centered on the Spanish-language content of the performance. “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” he claimed, a statement that overlooks the more than 44.8 million Spanish speakers in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The comment has drawn swift criticism from Latino advocacy groups and bilingual Americans, who pointed out that Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the country.
The president also targeted the show’s choreography, describing it as “disgusting, especially for young children who are watching from throughout the U.S.A. and all over the world.” He characterized the entire production as a “slap in the face” to the nation while touting recent economic indicators, including stock market performance and 401(k) values.
In a particularly sharp jab at the media, Trump predicted the performance would receive positive coverage from what he termed the “Fake News Media,” claiming journalists are disconnected from “the REAL WORLD.” He concluded his post with an unrelated complaint about the NFL’s new kickoff rule, demanding the league “immediately replace” it.
The halftime show itself represented one of the most explicitly Latino productions in Super Bowl history. Bad Bunny—born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—crafted a set that celebrated his Puerto Rican heritage through a fusion of reggaeton, Latin trap, and Caribbean musical traditions, accompanied by elaborate choreography and visual spectacle.
The performance featured high-profile surprise appearances from Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, along with cameos from artists including Cardi B, moments that dominated social media conversations throughout the evening. Clips from the show trended across TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, with early audience reactions skewing largely positive despite the president’s assessment.
Bad Bunny’s selection as halftime performer underscores his position as one of the most commercially dominant artists of the past decade. He has achieved multiple No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including “Un Verano Sin Ti” and “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana,” and has been instrumental in bringing Spanish-language music into the mainstream of U.S. pop and hip-hop consumption.
Trump’s comments arrive amid broader conservative criticism of the NFL’s programming choices. Right-wing commentators online questioned the league’s decision to spotlight Latin artists, with some going so far as to question Bad Bunny’s status as a cultural representative, even though Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, making all Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens by birth.
The NFL has deliberately pursued a strategy of global and multicultural programming for its halftime shows in recent years, reflecting the league’s stated ambitions to expand its international audience. Since 2023, Apple Music has sponsored the halftime show, with performers selected in partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company.
The president’s remarks have prompted responses from cultural commentators who note the contradiction between celebrating America’s diversity and criticizing one of its most successful Latino artists performing on one of the nation’s biggest stages.
As debate continues to unfold on social media and cable news, the incident highlights ongoing tensions over cultural representation, language, and national identity in American public life—tensions that have followed Trump throughout his political career and into his current term.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
President Trump’s attack on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show has exposed a stark cultural divide in America.
Trump criticized a performance by one of the world’s biggest music stars—who is also a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico—primarily because it was in Spanish, dismissing a language spoken by nearly 45 million Americans.
While the president called it “an affront to American greatness,” early audience reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with the show trending across social media platforms.
This incident underscores deeper questions about what “American” culture looks like in an increasingly diverse nation, and whether the presidency should be a platform for attacking artistic expression that doesn’t conform to one narrow cultural vision.
