Johnson, of course, is far from the only Republican to complain about the Super Bowl appointment of Bad Bunny. GOP senator Bernie Moreno claimed in an interview this week that “the NFL made a decision that was clearly partisan,” adding, “Why else would you pick, you know, some second-rate musician to play in our greatest sporting event? It makes no sense whatsoever…. I hope they reverse course and bring a great American performer in there that brings pride into America.”
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene ranted that his halftime performance would be “perverse” and “unwanted” after Bad Bunny called out his critics during a monologue on Saturday Night Live last weekend—telling his Latin base, in Spanish, that his Super Bowl selection was “demonstrating our footprint, our contribution,” and also suggesting that viewers learn the language. Greene also said that today would be a good time for Congress to pass her legislation making English the official language of America.
After Bad Bunny was announced as the performer, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem declared that ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl. And on Monday, the president of the United States—who has a long, contentious history with the NFL—said of the halftime choice: “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s lit…. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
During Donald Trump’s first term, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s Super Bowl LIV halftime show featured children in metal structures, a display meant to reference the children placed in cages as part of the administration’s border policy. Lopez also wore a jacket featuring both the American and Puerto Rican flags. Lopez later shared that the NFL had tried to nix the cages, but that she had been adamant about their inclusion, saying in her Netflix documentary about the event: “For me, this isn’t about politics. This is about human rights…. To take out the cages and sacrifice what I believe in would be like never being there at all.” Trump did not appear to comment on the performance.
Last month the Puerto Rican–born Bad Bunny said in an interview that he was not including the US in his world tour out of concern that his fans could be targeted by ICE, a fear that does not seem unwarranted in light of Noem’s remarks. As a reminder, Trump has a not-great track record with Puerto Rico, which includes having not wanted to send aid to the US territory after it was ravaged by Hurricane Maria; having told Puerto Ricans their natural disaster wasn’t “a real catastrophe like Katrina”; having personally intervened to cut Medicaid funding for the commonwealth; reportedly having suggested that the US trade Puerto Rico for Greenland; and having held a campaign rally during which a comedian described Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage.”
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