Donald Trump has emerged as one of the loudest critics of the NFL’s decision to tab Bad Bunny as Super Bowl 60’s halftime headliner. In interviews and public comments leading up to the game, the president has questioned the league’s musical choices and linked them to what he characterizes as division.
At the same time, he has maintained that his decision not to attend the 2026 Super Bowl in Santa Clara is based on logistics rather than the artists performing, even as his remarks have become part of a broader back-and-forth with the Puerto Rican star.
Why is Donald Trump Not Attending the Super Bowl?
In an Oval Office interview with the New York Post, Trump confirmed he will not be at Levi’s Stadium for this year’s Super Bowl. He cited the cross-country trip from Washington, D.C., to the Bay Area as his primary reason for staying away from the game, telling the outlet, “It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me.” He later added, “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter,” referring to the distance.
Billboard, summarizing those remarks, noted that Trump said his absence was not because of the performers booked for the event. The game features Bad Bunny as the Apple Music Super Bowl 60 Halftime Show headliner, with Green Day scheduled to perform in the pregame opening ceremony.
Trump attended last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, which he referenced while contrasting that trip with the longer journey required for the 2026 edition on the West Coast.
Taken together, his comments present a split explanation: on one hand, Trump insists he is skipping the game for travel reasons, while on the other, he has also gone on record with pointed criticism of the artists involved. That dual message has made his stance part of the story around how politics, music, and the NFL intersect ahead of Super Bowl 60.
NFL’s Selection of Bad Bunny Receives Mixed Reactions
Trump has directly targeted Bad Bunny and Green Day in several recent comments. Speaking to the New York Post, he reacted to the NFL’s choice of halftime and opening ceremony performers by saying, “I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
His criticism comes amid a longer-running exchange between Trump and Bad Bunny. Based on reports, Bad Bunny has repeatedly used his platform to address U.S. immigration enforcement and Trump-era policies.
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At the 2026 Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny referenced Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his acceptance speech for best música urbana, saying, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out’,” before adding, “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
The same timeline highlights that Trump, in October 2025, called the NFL’s decision to name Bad Bunny as Super Bowl 60’s halftime performer “absolutely ridiculous,” saying, “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is.” By January 2026, his comments had escalated to the “I’m anti-them” line directed at both Bad Bunny and Green Day.
While the NFL, Apple Music, and Roc Nation have not wavered publicly from their selection, those statements have helped frame Trump as a prominent detractor of the league’s halftime direction, even as he maintains that his personal Super Bowl plans are dictated by distance rather than the show itself.
