On Sunday (Feb. 8), the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny thrilled the audience at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show. The most vocal critic of his performance was President Donald Trump, who soundly slammed him on his Truth Social media platform – and was swiftly mocked by a wave of people on social media.
“It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the dancing “disgusting” and saying there was “nothing inspirational” about it.
Trump had opposed Bad Bunny being the performer selected by Apple Music since last October, calling the choice “absolutely ridiculous,” leading to conservative group Turning Point USA hastily putting together the “All-American Halftime Show.” (Side note – Puerto Ricans are American citizens.)
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It was expected that Trump would be all-in on the TPUSA show, with country rock-rapper Kid Rock billed as a headliner. “I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny. I must say that,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt last week.
But footage taken at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate showed that they were indeed watching Bad Bunny’s halftime show, completely done in Spanish.
The TPUSA show drew about 5.2 million people at its peak while being streamed on YouTube, with the overall viewership numbers totaling over 12 million by the end of Super Bowl 60. Conversely, CBS News is reporting that Bad Bunny’s halftime show is the most-viewed of all time, drawing an estimated 135 million viewers concurrently.
Trump’s comments earned him scorn on social media. Democratic Party congressional candidate Fred Wellman summed it up in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Just psychotic.” In another post on X, lawyer Aaron Parnas noted, “Trump admitting to watching Bad Bunny and not Turning Point USA while trying to attack Bad Bunny is peak 2026.”
