The Michael Knowles Show

Episode 1908 – Super Bowl: Bad Bunny Babbles, TPUSA Preaches Gospel
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Michael Knowles
Podcast: The Daily Wire

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the cultural and political events of the past week, centering on the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny versus Turning Point USA's (TPUSA) alternative halftime event, the controversial opening of the Olympics, attitudes of Team USA members abroad, and commentary on racial identity politics in the U.S. Michael Knowles dissects what he sees as the decline of cultural excellence and patriotism in mainstream events, contrasts it with conservative efforts, and critiques recent public statements by left-wing figures.

Key Topics & Discussions

1. Super Bowl Halftime Show: Bad Bunny

(00:13 – 17:30)

• Main Critique: Knowles heavily criticizes Bad Bunny’s performance, describing it as a deliberate departure from American cultural norms and a missed opportunity for patriotic celebration.

  • “From my understanding, a transvestite babbled in a foreign tongue during what is supposed to be America's favorite sporting event.” (02:21)
  • Bad Bunny’s use of Spanish is interpreted by Knowles not as cultural inclusion, but as a form of disrespect to the predominantly English-speaking American audience.
  • Knowles notes Bad Bunny’s ending remarks: “God bless America. Argentina, Chile, Ecuador...United States, Canada, and my motherland, Puerto Rico.”
    • “He said, God bless America, but he doesn't mean what you think he meant by America...he was God bless ‘the Americas’...[it's] finding a way to diminish this country that has been so good to you.” (06:15)

• Imagery and Content:

  • Mentions “a couple of fellas grinding on each other” and describes the show as containing “gay stuff,” maintaining the theme of “moral decline” in mainstream culture.
  • Frames the show as anti-American, lacking musical talent, and creatively inferior compared to expectations for a Super Bowl event.

• Public Reception & Reactions:

  • Cites negative reviews from Donald Trump and even an “Elmo” parody from public television, interpreting efforts to hype the performance as “signs of desperation” from liberals.
  • “Trump characteristically panned it: ‘...this show is just a slap in the face to our country...’ All true.” (11:36)
  • "Elmo has to come out in support of Bad Bunny. Why? Because Sesame Street is super Lib. They needed a little cultural reinforcement." (09:57)

2. The TPUSA Alternative Halftime Show

(17:30 – 38:00)

• Event Overview:

  • TPUSA’s alternative halftime show, streamed on YouTube and Daily Wire, reportedly drew over 26 million views—characterized as a major success in conservative cultural counter-programming.
    • “There were 142 million viewers for the Super Bowl... to be able to pull 26, 27 million viewers for an alternative halftime show. Very, very impressive.” (18:45)
  • Describes risk for TPUSA: "If this thing had flopped...it would look humiliating for an organization already reeling from the assassination...of its great founder and leader." (18:12)

• Diversity of the Right:

  • Knowles notes the challenge of catering to the ideologically and temperamentally diverse American right, as compared to the left:
    • “The right...is simply more diverse, ideologically more diverse, temperamentally more diverse, geographically more diverse. It's actually very difficult to play to the right...” (21:28)
  • TPUSA’s programming is praised for appealing to different sensibilities—country, hard rock, worship, and traditional music tastes.
  • Musical Highlight: The show opened with high energy (Kid Rock), transitioned to classical performance (cellist and violinist), and culminated with Kid Rock (by his Christian name) performing a gospel-infused anthem.

• Kid Rock’s Performance:

  • Begins with a “pyro American flag” show ("red, white, and blue...My name is Kid!") and later offers a reflective, Christian-themed song—“Till You Can’t”.
    • “He comes out with a guitar and he sings this song ‘till you can’t’...it was kind of wistful, and it made sense of the whole event.” (32:19)
  • Kid Rock introduces an original verse, focused on Christ's redemption:
    • “God told me to write another verse...There’s a man who died for all our sins hanging from the cross, you could give your life to Jesus and he’ll give you a second chance till you can’t.” (33:24)
  • Knowles interprets this as a mature, artistically beautiful reflection on life’s brevity and the need for spiritual reckoning:
    • "And he just preaches the gospel...you can cooperate with God’s grace until you can’t. That’s the key." (35:10)
  • Ends with a tribute to Charlie Kirk, “beautifully done...could not have done a better job.”

3. Olympics Opening & Team USA Critique

(38:00 – 55:31)

• Disdain for the Olympics:

  • Knowles confesses general dislike for the event, except for social occasions and certain entertainments, viewing the games as a pagan reclaiming over Christian Western culture.
    • “The Olympics opening ceremony this year involved a fiery pentagram monstrance lit up in red...It seemed a little Luciferian, didn’t it?” (40:37)
  • Traces the resurgence of Olympics and pagan ritual to Enlightenment rejection of Christendom.

• Team USA’s Alleged Anti-Americanism:

  • Hunter Hess (Olympic skier):
    • Quote: “It brings up mixed emotions to represent the US right now...Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S.” (52:15)
    • Knowles’s response: “This guy is the worst of America...He is the. This is. This is worse than a guy committing petty street crime. It's worse because it's an assault on our country and it's a betrayal of our country from a guy who's been entrusted to represent our country.”
  • Amber Glenn (figure skater):
    • Quote: “It’s been a hard time for the community overall under this administration...I hope I can use my platform and my voice throughout these Games to try and encourage people to stay strong in these hard times.” (53:44)
    • Knowles argues Glenn is “a little more confused” and “doesn’t really know what she’s saying,” but both reflect an excessive, negative individualism disloyal to the nation.

• On the Purpose of Sports & Olympics:

  • "Beyond athletic excellence, the point of being on the team is to support your country, to promote your country. If you are doing the opposite, you are fundamentally undermining your purpose." (55:15)

4. “Kill Whitey”: Mask-Off Ethnic Identity Politics

(55:31 – 59:20)

• Rep. Gene Wu’s Remarks:
  • Clip from Texas legislator Gene Wu: “The day Latino, African American, Asian, and other communities realize that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning...We are the majority in this country now.”
  • Knowles paraphrases: “We need to be united to go get rid of the majority. Hey, everybody, I just wanna...I wanna bring us all together here to say, kill whitey.”
  • He contextualizes this rhetoric as typical of modern left-wing discourse and rejects claims of rising “white racial consciousness,” citing Pew data.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Bad Bunny:
  • “He said, God bless America, but he doesn’t mean what you think he meant by America...Even as you say God bless America, [Bad Bunny] is finding a way to diminish this country that has been so good to you.” (06:15)
• On the TPUSA Show’s Success:
  • “To be able to pull 26, 27 million viewers for an alternative halftime show. Very, very impressive.” (18:45)
• On Kid Rock’s Gospel Moment:
  • “He just preaches the gospel... you can cooperate with God's grace until you can't. That's the key. That's what distinguishes that verse from so many of the errors of modern sappy, saccharine music.” (35:10)
• On Team USA Dissenters:
  • “Just cause I wear the American flag on my uniform doesn't mean I represent America. That's literally all it represents.” (52:55)
• On Rep. Wu’s Rhetoric:
  • “Hey, everybody, I just wanna...I wanna bring us all together here to say, kill whitey. Go kill whitey. All right?” (57:33)

Timestamps of Importance

• Bad Bunny Halftime Show Critique: 02:21 – 17:30
• Elmo/Trump Reacts: 09:57 – 13:50
• TPUSA Halftime Show Analysis: 17:30 – 38:00
  • Kid Rock Opens: 27:55
  • Kid Rock’s Gospel Turn: 32:19 – 35:10
• Olympics Pagan Imagery & Games: 40:37 – 50:00
• Team USA Discontent: 52:15 – 55:31
• Rep. Wu and “Kill Whitey” Segment: 55:31 – 59:20

Tone and Overall Takeaways

• The tone is sharp, satirical, and sometimes mocking—with Michael Knowles positioning himself as a guardian of traditional American values, cultural excellence, and patriotism.
• The show weaves in humor, sarcasm, and frequent hyperbole.
• Knowles juxtaposes mainstream (liberal) cultural moments with what he considers authentic, patriotic, and spiritually meaningful alternatives.
• A recurring theme is the battle for America’s cultural soul, with the left depicted as decadent and anti-patriotic, while conservative efforts are shown as redemptive, sincere, and ultimately victorious.

Summary Prepared For:
Listeners seeking a thorough, timestamped breakdown of the episode’s key themes—without the advertisements or off-topic segments.