President Donald Trump and many in his MAGA-sphere took issue with the NFL's choice of Spanish-speaking Bad Bunny as the halftime performer in the Super Bowl, so they made their own show. And the payoff was millions of streaming views of the 'All American Halftime Show' on You Tube.
Featuring Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett, Turning Point USA's show began right as the official Super Bowl halftime show ended. It was dedicated the group's late founder Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was shot dead last year, and began with a message from Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Turning Point USA drew over 6 million concurrent views on YouTube, and had grown to 20 million streams by Monday morning. In comparison, CBS reported that Bad Bunny's joyful Puerta Rican-themed halftime show done entirely in Spanish drew a record-breaking 135 million views, the most for any Super Bowl halftime show.
“The All-American Halftime Show is an opportunity for all Americans to enjoy a halftime show with no agenda other than to celebrate faith, family, and freedom,” TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a statement earlier this week. “We set out to provide an entertainment option that will be fun, excellent, and exciting for the entire family while millions are gathered together for the big game.”
The theme of Bad Bunny's performance was unity through love, and still, it had plenty of detractors, including those who bristled at the Spanish theme for an 'all-American' sport.
President Donald Trump piled on during Bad Bunny’s performance.
“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! 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 in a statement on Truth Social. “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children who are watching throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World.’
Trump condemned Bad Bunny's performance as incomprehensible and inappropriate for young viewers, criticizing it as a "slap in the face" to the country's achievements.
Trump, who hosted his own Super Bowl watch party at Mar-a-Lago, had previously expressed his disapproval of Bad Bunny and Green Day as halftime show headliners, citing their anti-immigration stance.
For his part, Bad Bunny spiked a football on the field to end his 13-minute performance, and the ball said “Together, We Are America." A message on a giant billboard behind him read: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”