Bad Bunny, the Super Bowl and a MAGA meltdown

Summary

Post Reports: "Bad Bunny, the Super Bowl and a MAGA Meltdown"

Date: October 9, 2025
Host: Colby Yakowitz
Guest: Sabrina Rodriguez, National Politics Reporter

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the cultural and political backlash following the NFL's announcement that Bad Bunny—a Puerto Rican global music superstar—will headline the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The hosts delve into why Bad Bunny's selection has stirred controversy among MAGA supporters, examine wider debates on identity, language, and American cultural institutions, and highlight reactions from key political figures, the NFL, and Bad Bunny himself.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bad Bunny’s Meteoric Rise and Super Bowl Selection

[00:01 – 02:58]

• Background:

  • Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) released the hit album Debitrar Mas Photos in 2025, topping charts worldwide.
  • He’s “one of the most streamed artists in the world,” often in competition with Taylor Swift.
  • The NFL announced Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl Halftime performer in a “textbook” fashion during a Sunday Night Football game.

• Fan and Artist Reaction:

  • Fans were widely supportive, seeing it as a natural culmination of Bad Bunny’s success.
  • Bad Bunny’s statement expressed pride and cultural solidarity:

    “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me…This is for my people, my culture, and our history. Halftime show at Super Bowl. Go and tell your grandma that we’re going to be the halftime show of the Super Bowl.” (Bad Bunny, [02:18])

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2. Right-Wing and MAGA Backlash

[02:58 – 04:25]

• Immediate Conservative Outcry:
  • Right-wing influencers and MAGA commentators railed against the choice, focusing on:
    • Bad Bunny performs exclusively in Spanish.
    • Sexual and “demonic” content in his music.
    • Social media backlash included posts like former racing driver Danica Patrick’s:

      “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest-rated television events of the year.” (Danica Patrick, paraphrased by Sabrina Rodriguez, [03:30])

    • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene commented on X:

      “…a good time to pass my bill to make English the official language of America and the NFL needs to stop having demonic sexual performances during its halftime shows.” ([03:54])

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3. Immigration Politics & ICE Enforcement Threats

[04:25 – 07:56]

• Bad Bunny’s ICE Concerns:

  • Bad Bunny avoided U.S. mainland tour stops “because of fears that his concerts could become a real spot for ICE raids,” given his large Latino fanbase.
  • Colby clarifies:

    “He’s basically saying, I don’t want to endanger my fans.” ([05:51])

• Trump Administration’s Response:

  • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on The Benny Show:

    “There will be [ICE enforcement] because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe…We’ll be all over that place and…I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law abiding Americans who love this country.” (Kristi Noem, [06:32 – 06:41])

    • Noem went on to directly criticize the NFL:

      “They suck and we’ll win and God will bless us and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won’t be able to sleep at night.” (Kristi Noem, [06:56])

• Uncertainty Over Enforcement:

  • It’s not clear what ICE presence would actually look like—ID checks for attendees, performers, or staff?

    “There really hasn’t been many details released about what that will look like, but…Noem and President Trump’s advisor Corey Lewandowski…clearly send a message.” (Sabrina Rodriguez, [07:17])

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4. Donald Trump’s Response: Downplaying the Controversy

[07:56 – 09:30]

• Delayed Engagement:
  • Trump didn’t comment for over a week.
• Newsmax Interview:
  • Host Greg Kelly teed up a boycott, but Trump pivoted away from the topic:
    • “He spoke very briefly about Bad Bunny and then pivoted very quickly to complaining about the kickoff rule in the NFL.” (Sabrina Rodriguez, [09:23])
    • Kelly:

      “The NFL just chose the bad bunny rabbit or whatever his name...Do you think maybe we should just kind of entertain blowing off the NFL?” ([08:22])

    • Trump:

      Quickly changed subject to NFL kickoff rules ([09:14]).

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5. Bad Bunny’s SNL Response & His Message to Latinos

[09:30 – 11:12]

• Mocking Critics:

  • Hosted SNL, used the opening monologue for playful jabs:
    • “You might not know this, but I’m doing the Super Bowl halftime show. And I’m very happy. I’m very happy and I think everyone is happy about it.” ([10:03])
  • SNL montage joked even Fox News backed him, with playful fake praises.

• Direct Message to Latinos:

  • Delivered a message in Spanish:

    “His selection was an achievement for all Latinos…and that no one can remove or erase our mark and contributions to this country.” (Paraphrased by Sabrina Rodriguez, [10:31])

  • Punctuated with a challenge to critics:

    “…if you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.” ([10:48])

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6. Cultural Context: Puerto Rico, Trump, and the NFL

[13:10 – 16:54]

• Bad Bunny’s Political Stance:

  • Proudly Puerto Rican—can’t vote in U.S. presidential elections unless living on the mainland.
  • Was active in Hurricane Maria relief, critical of Trump’s leadership (“Are you a tweeter or a president?” T-shirt at Somos Live benefit).
  • Endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024 after an anti-Puerto Rican joke circulated at a Trump rally.

    “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” (Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe via Colby Yakowitz, [15:21])

• NFL’s Calculated Pick:

  • NFL has not officially commented on the backlash, but statement at announcement:

    “As one of the most influential and streamed artists in the world, his unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice…” (NFL official, provided by Sabrina Rodriguez, [17:00])

  • NFL is intentionally courting a global/international audience:

    “They’ve been very clear that there is a lot of money to be made by looking at international audiences and really trying to expand the footprint of the NFL.” (Sabrina Rodriguez, [18:08])

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7. Larger Implications: Identity, Multiculturalism, and Political Power

[18:21 – 19:55]

• Bad Bunny as a Symbol:
  • “Bad Bunny’s existence is political.” His unapologetic embrace of being Puerto Rican and performing in Spanish makes him polarizing in the current climate.
• Political Influence of Latin Artists:
  • Celebrity endorsements have limited direct electoral impact, but the choice of Bad Bunny “is particularly going to resonate with Latinos and…I think beyond to people that are just paying attention to this moment in politics and culture.” (Sabrina Rodriguez, [19:36])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What I’m feeling 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.”
  — Bad Bunny ([02:18])

• “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year.”
  — Danica Patrick, via Sabrina Rodriguez ([03:30])

• “ICE will be all over that place and I can’t…we’re going to enforce the law.”
  — Kristi Noem ([06:41])

• “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”
  — Bad Bunny on SNL ([10:48])

• “Bad Bunny’s existence is political. … This is Bad Bunny’s brand, is him unapologetically Puerto Rican, his unapologetically singing in Spanish.”
  — Sabrina Rodriguez ([19:18])

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:01 | Introduction & Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl selection | | 02:11 | Bad Bunny’s proud statement for fans & culture | | 03:17 | Outrage from MAGA commentators over Bad Bunny’s selection | | 04:40 | Bad Bunny’s concern about ICE and tour dates | | 06:32 | Kristi Noem announces ICE presence at the Super Bowl | | 08:04 | Trump avoids direct engagement with the controversy | | 09:39 | Bad Bunny addresses backlash humorously on SNL | | 13:10 | Historical/political context: Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny’s activism | | 16:19 | Trump’s evolving relationship with the NFL | | 17:00 | NFL’s official rationale for choosing Bad Bunny | | 18:48 | Reflection on Bad Bunny’s influence on American identity politics |

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Final Thoughts & Takeaways

The controversy over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl headlining gig reveals deep fissures in American identity politics, with his unapologetic celebration of Latino culture and the Spanish language met with both adulation and nativist backlash. The episode demonstrates that pop culture, especially on marquee stages like the Super Bowl, is a battleground for broader debates over who gets to define American-ness in the 2020s.

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For listeners wanting a nuanced, big-picture view of the latest intersection between sports, politics, and culture wars, this episode offers essential reporting and thoughtful analysis on how a halftime show became a national flashpoint.

Transcript

[Colby Yakowitz]

Bad Bunny is having a phenomenal year. The Puerto Rican music superstar put out a new album earlier this year. It's called Debitrar Mas Photos, and it spent weeks at the top of the charts. Here's a bit of the first track, and this is just his latest success. Since his debut album in 2018, Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has become a global sensation. He consistently sells out tours. He and Taylor Swift, they're often vying for top spots on the streaming charts. Now he's set to headline one of the biggest stages for a musical, the super bowl halftime show. But that performance has ignited a political firestorm on the right. From the newsroom of the Washington. Welcome to the Washington Post. This is Post Reports. I'm Colby echoitz. It's Thursday, October 9th. Today, national politics reporter Sabrina Rodriguez explains how Bad Bunny ended up in the crosshairs of maga's culture wars. Hi, Sabrina. I'm so excited to have you on.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Oh, I'm so excited to be here with you.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Okay. So in late September, the NFL announced that Bad Bunny would be the halftime show performer. And to put it mildly, that announcement has generated a lot of feelings. So what happened?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

So we saw the NFL make their big announcement, you know, of who the super bowl halftime headliner was going to be. You know, they usually do it a few months in advance. They, you know, will announce it in the middle of a game. They did it very textbook on a Sunday night football game. Put the. It showed, you know, Bad Bunny in his traditional Puerto Rican bava hat with a beautiful beach sunrise and him sitting on a football goal post.

[Colby Yakowitz]

And how did Bad Bunny fans respond to him being chosen? And what did Bad Bunny himself say?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

For fans of Bad Bunny, it's not a big surprise to see that he's gonna be the super bowl headliner. He has had, like a tremendous year as an artist and a tremendous run in recent years. You know, he's one of the most streamed artists in the world. Three time Grammy Award winner. I think what summed it up was the statement that he put out when it was announced that he was the pick. And here's what he said. What I'm feeling 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. Halftime show at Super Bowl. Go and tell your grandma that we're going to be the halftime show of the Super Bowl.

[Colby Yakowitz]

So Bad Bunny puts out this statement and it's all about, you know, he's proud to be picked and he's doing this for his Latino and his Puerto Rican culture and background. But then the next thing that seems to happen is this massive reaction from the political right. So what did happen next?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

We saw from right wing influencers, MAGA commentators on social media. A lot of this conversation happening, of course on X was a lot of anger over the NFL's choice. One of the biggest reasons we've seen MAGA commentators focus in on is the fact that Bad Bunny performs exclusively in Spanish. One of the posts that we saw on X from Danica Patrick, the former professional racing driver and rising conservative pundit. Her post was no songs in English should not be allowed at one of America's highest rated television events of the year. Then from there we, you know, a lot of commentary describing his music and his performances as demonic, people criticizing the sexually suggestive messaging in some of his songs. Then we even saw Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene weigh in on this and she said on X it would be a good time to pass my bill to make English the official language of America and the NFL needs to stop having demonic sexual performances during its halftime shows.

[Colby Yakowitz]

And one thing I noticed, Sabrina, is that Bad Bunny had some comments about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, that have become a big focus of this right wing backlash. What did Bad Bunny say that they've been objecting to?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

So I think a little context is Bad Bunny just wrapped up a 31 show sold out concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico for his newest album, De Vitid Armas. Photos or I should have taken more photos? It's really a celebration of Puerto Ric and the way that the album celebrated the culture. He wanted to bring people to the island to kind of see firsthand what Puerto Rico's like, how beautiful it is. And in addition to the residency, he also announced a world tour where he's going to be traveling around the world. He's doing shows in places like Mexico, Spain, France, Japan, Australia. But noticeably absent from there was the US Mainland. In an interview with ID Magazine in the middle of September, he acknowledged that part of the reason that he had foregone doing shows in the US Mainland was because of fears that his concerts could become a real spot for ICE raids. Given that his fan base is primarily Latino, there was really a concern that he had that it would just become a spot for that.

[Colby Yakowitz]

So he's basically saying, I don't want to endanger my fans.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Yes.

[Colby Yakowitz]

But what's interesting is that now he actually is doing a show in the United States and it's perhaps the biggest stage that you can perform on in the mainland as a musical act, and that's the Super Bowl. I mean, could we see ICE enforcement at the Super Bowl? What has the Trump administration said?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

The highest profile person in the Trump administration to speak up about this was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noemi. She was on conservative podcast the Benny show with Benny Johnson, and he asked her about all this controversy.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

What is your message to the NFL? What is your message to Bad Bunny? Will there be ICE enforcement at the Super Bowl?

[Kristi Noem]

There will be because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

She specifically said that ICE will be all over the place.

[Kristi Noem]

So, yeah, we'll be all over that place and I can't. We're going to enforce the law. So I think people should not be coming to the super bowl unless they're law abiding Americans who love this country.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

And she sent a message to the NFL where she said that they suck.

[Kristi Noem]

They suck and we'll win and God will bless us and we'll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won't be able to sleep at night.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

And, you know, kind of reeled against them for making the decision that they've made.

[Colby Yakowitz]

I'm trying to imagine, Sabrina, like, what would it even look like to have ICE agents, like, patrolling the Super Bowl?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

I think it's a real open question, Colby, what exactly that would look like. Are they going to be looking for identification for passports, for, you know, proof of citizenship for attendees? Are they going to be doing that for people in the performance, for backup dancers, for crew, for people working at the venue? There really hasn't been many details released about what that will look like, but you do quickly see Noem and President Trump's advisor, Corey Lewandowski as well, saying, oh, but ICE will be there just to clearly send a message.

[Colby Yakowitz]

So people in MAGA world are complaining about this, people in Trump's orbit, his administration. What about Trump himself? Has he said anything about this?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

It's really interesting, Colby, because Trump actually was uncharacteristically quiet about this for several days. He took over a week to weigh in on it. And ultimately the way he responded to it was in an interview with Newsmax where he was asked about it.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

The NFL just chose the bad bunny rabbit or whatever his name. This guy who hates ice, he doesn't like you. He accuses everything he doesn't like of racism. Do you think maybe we should just kind of entertain blowing off the NFL, like a boycott or something along those lines. 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 like crazy. And then they blame it on some.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

But it was interesting because in the tee up of being asked about this, he was asked by Newsmax, Greg Kelly if he thought that people should boycott the NFL over this decision. And Trump did not engage with that. In his response, he spoke very briefly about Bad Bunny and then pivoted very quickly to complaining about the kickoff rule in the NFL.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

While we're at it, I'd like them to change the kickoff rule, which looks ridiculous, where the ball is kicked and the ball is floating in the air and everyone's standing there watching it.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Something he's really griped about several times. But it was interesting to see just kind of how quickly he moved on from Bad Bunny and his own answer there.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Has Bad Bunny himself responded to all of this, responded to this backlash, to him headlining the Super Bowl?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

So this was very well timed. But this past weekend, Bad Bunny was the host of the Season 51 premiere of Saturday Night Live. And in his opening monologue, he sort of mocked his critics. You might not know these, but I'm doing the super bowl halftime show.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

And I'm very happy. I'm very happy and I think everyone is happy about it.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

They showed a mashup of short clips featuring different Fox News personalities that was spliced together.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

Even, even Fox News.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Bad Bunny is my favorite musician and.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

He should be the next president.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

And in his opening monologue, he also delivered a message directly to Latinos in Spanish where he was saying that, you know, his selection was an achievement for all Latinos. And I think his word choice here was very intentional that no one can remove or erase our mark and contributions to this country. And there he kind of moved back into a joke and in English said, if you didn't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.

[Colby Yakowitz]

After the break how this Bad Bunny controversy fits into the ongoing fights over identity politics in America. We'll be right back.

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[Colby Yakowitz]

So Sabrina, I want to take a little step back here and provide some history because there's a few aspects of this story that make it a really interesting cultural flashpoint with a lot of echoes to the culture wars from the first Trump administration. As we've noted, Bad Bunny, he's very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage. And you know, I remember in his first term, Donald Trump, he drew a lot of criticism from people on the island for the federal government's response to Hurricanes Maria and Irma. In 2017, his administration was slow to send aid to the island. How does all of that history fit into Bad Bunny's politics now related to Trump?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

So Bad Bunny grew up in Puerto Rico, and I think an important primer is the fact that Puerto Rico is a US Territory, which means if you're born in Puerto Rico, you are a US Citizen, but if you grow up on the island, you are not able to vote for the U.S. president. Only if you live in the U.S. mainland are you able to vote for president. So Bad Bunny has been careful about how he talks about US Politics gets involved, but he has been vocally critical of President Trump in the past. Early on in his career, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, he was very active in the humanitarian efforts and the recovery afterwards. And at one point during a Somos Live benefit concert that was huge at the time for helping with the recovery, he wore a shirt that says Tuer Twittero or Presidente Are you a tweeter or a president? So a direct reference to Trump at the time. And more recently in the 2024 presidential election, he threw his support behind Democratic nominee and then Vice President Kamala Harris. And it just came shortly after a rally at Madison Square Garden for Donald Trump that we saw one of the speakers, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, make a joke about Puerto Ric.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

There's a lot going on.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Like, I don't know if you guys.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

Know this, but there's literally a floating.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Island of garbage in the middle of.

[Interviewer or Newsmax Host (Greg Kelly)]

The ocean right now. Yeah, I think it's called Puerto Rico.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Okay.

[Washington Post Announcer]

All right.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Right, right. And I remember you covering that at the time, and. And Puerto Ricans feeling incredibly offended. And that the bad bunny endorsement that came shortly after felt like it could be like a turning point in the race.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

It was that final week before Election Day, and you saw Democrats really try and seize on it and seize on the bad bunny endorsement to try and drum up more excitement, to get more people out to the polls. Of course, we know ultimately what the outcome was, but that was one of those moments that Democrats started to feel that they had a little bit of momentum, particularly as they saw sort of a slippage with Latino voters.

[Colby Yakowitz]

The other cultural institution here is the NFL. And I think it's important to note that Trump has sparred with the NFL in the past. Right. What's his relationship like with the NFL?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Trump has long had a tumultuous relationship with the NFL. He, during his first term in particular, had issues when there were players that were kneeling during the national anthem. So all of that controversy. Now fast forward to his second term. He's the first sitting president to attend the super bowl, as he did this past year. He has proudly hyped up that the NFL draft will be taking place in Washington, D.C. in 2027. So clearly, his relationship with the organization has changed.

[Colby Yakowitz]

And what has the NFL said about all of this controversy around the bad buddy pick?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

The NFL has not spoken out about the backlash we've seen that Commissioner Roger Goodell has not spoken about the selection or the backlash that has ensued. But when the announcement was first made, we saw in a statement from the NFL and NFL officials say, as one of the most influential and streamed artists in the world, his unique ability to bridge genres, languages, and audiences makes him an exciting and natural choice to take the super bowl halftime stage. I think it's important to note here that the NFL has been very open in trying to reach an international audience. They really want to expand their global reach and that adds to why Bad Bunny makes sense as a Super bowl halftime show headliner. So by picking someone like him, they might bring in people who maybe wouldn't be really interested in watching the game or are not super invested in American football, but may be tuning in to see that performance.

[Colby Yakowitz]

That's so interesting. So basically the idea being like, listen, the American audience isn't the only audience.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

We care about 100%. I mean, they've been very clear that there is a lot of money to be made by looking at international audiences and really trying to expand the footprint of the NFL.

[Colby Yakowitz]

So, Sabrina, after talking about all of this with you, clearly Bad Bunny has been thrust into this moment in American politics where one political party has rejected multiculturalism. And Bad Bunny's Latino culture is his brand. Right. It's a huge part of his popularity. So how much political influence does someone like Bad Bunny have in this moment?

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

I think Bad Bunny endorsing a candidate or expressing support for a candidate we've seen proven many times over, not just with Bad Bunny, but with other celebrities, that that does not necessarily mean that he's going to sway his fans to vote one way over another. But I think that Bad Bunny's existence is political. The fact that Bad Bunny is an artist who is again, one of the most streamed in the world, that all his songs are in Spanish, this is Bad Bunny's brand, is him unapologetically Puerto Rican, his unapologetically singing in Spanish. He does speak English as he has in interviews and everything, but he chooses to create his art in Spanish and to just be himself. And I think that existence in this era is particularly going to resonate with Latinos and I think beyond to people that are just paying attention to this moment in politics and culture.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Sabrina, thank you so much for coming on.

[Sabrina Rodriguez]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Colby Yakowitz]

Sabrina Rodriguez is a national politics reporter for the Post. Earlier today, conservative group Turning Point USA announced that they are hosting their own halftime show during the Super Bowl. They're calling it, quote, the All American Halftime Show. That's it for Post reports. Thanks for listening. If you're looking for the latest updates on the big news of the day, check out our morning news briefing. The seven. We bring you the seven stories you need to know about every Weekday morning by 7am you can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Today's show was produced by Laura Benchoff. It was mixed by Sam Baer and edited by Ariel Plotnick. Thanks to editor Sean Sullivan. I'm Colby Yakowitz. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post.

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