White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has issued a brutal putdown to Bad Bunny ahead of his Super Bowl LX halftime show on Sunday night.
Despite furious fan backlash over the NFL’s decision, plans are still in place for the Puerto Rican rapper to take to the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Bunny has previously spoken out against the Trump administration and cited ICE agents as a reason why he did not include any mainland US dates for his tour – before once again calling out the federal law enforcement group at the 2026 Grammys.
Donald Trump has since confirmed that he will skip the showpiece event due to Bad Bunny’s selection and will instead host a Mar-a-Lago watching party on Sunday.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Leavitt was asked whether the watch party will tune in to Bad Bunny at halftime or Kid Rock, who will be performing at Turning Point USA’s own halftime show.
Leavitt said: ‘I think the president would much prefer a kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny. I must say that.’
Donald Trump will not attend Super Bowl LX on Sunday due to Bad Bunny’s halftime show
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that Trump’s watch party will likely snub the NFL’s halftime show and will, instead, watching Turning Point USA’s halftime show
The President said last month he wouldn’t be going to the NFL’s championship game in Santa Clara, California because it’s ‘just too far away.’
‘I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter,’ he told the New York Post.
However a report from progressive outlet Zeteo claim that Trump heard from advisers and officials that the crowd would heckle him at the Bay Area stadium home to the San Francisco 49ers.
One White House official said Trump’s chances of getting booed were ‘big league’, and four people familiar with the situation said the administration was worried about the slew of video clips and media coverage the scene would undeniably attract.
It would be ‘another thing we don’t want right now,’ a Trump adviser told the outlet on wanting to avoid such a viral moment.
Trump’s absence from the big game comes as his approval rating is plummeting amid outrage over the administration’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and sticky inflation that continues to hammer families at the grocery store.
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny recently admitted that he is struggling to sleep leading up to his Super Bowl halftime performance.
The Puerto Rican star, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, held a press conference about Sunday’s hugely anticipated show in San Francisco where he teased special guests and vowed to pay tribute to his roots.
On Sunday, Bad Bunny doubled down on his criticisms of ICE in his Grammy speech
Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett will all perform at TPUSA’s rival show
‘I’ve been working on this show, what we’re gonna do next Sunday, it’s a lot,’ the 31-year-old said. ‘Thinking about the Super Bowl at 4am, that’s what I’ve been doing. It’s been hard to not.
‘I’m happy but I’m just processing, taking one day at a time. I just try to take it easy. Wake up, work out, drink my coffee, try not to think too much about it.
‘Last night I couldn’t sleep, I was thinking about it. I want to think it’s 13 minutes of doing what I love, what I like. I know I’m gonna have fun.’
He added: ‘I wasn’t looking for the album of the year at the Grammys, I wasn’t looking for the Super Bowl halftime show.
‘To be the biggest stage of the world is something that I never thought (possible). You always have to be proud of who you are and feel comfortable being yourself, being proud about your history and where you are from and don’t let that limit yourself.
‘I feel very blessed, every step of my career I get to another level, it’s how I feel. It has been a beautiful and tough journey. I worked for it.’
