Why Trump slammed Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show - history, identity, culture explained

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, delivered a Super Bowl halftime show that will be remembered as much for what it said as for how it looked. Performing at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, the Grammy-winning artiste became the first Latin star to headline the Super Bowl with a largely Spanish-language set.

While the performance drew criticism from US President Donald Trump, it also stood out as a carefully constructed tribute to Puerto Rican life, Latin American history, and cultural memory. It was a statement.

Why Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance was historic

At 31, the Puerto Rican rapper and singer brought a 12-song set that combined reggaeton, salsa, and hip-hop, including a salsa version of Die With a Smile with Lady Gaga. But the impact of the show lay less in the playlist and more in its details.

1. Bad Bunny didn't arrive at the Super Bowl as a guest performer. He arrived with an entire world. What happened on stage felt like Puerto Rico being placed at the centre of one of America's biggest events.
2. The performance opened with Bad Bunny moving through tall grass, revealing farmworkers at work -- a clear reference to Puerto Rico's agricultural past and the labour that built the island. He later climbed an electric pole, a reference to the frequent power cuts caused by an ageing grid and repeated natural disasters.
3. When he performed El Apagon, which translates to 'The Power Outage', the symbolism seemed difficult to ignore. The song openly criticises both the Puerto Rican administration and the US government for neglecting the island. It was one of the most politically sound moments of the night.
4. At another point, the camera cut to a modest living room where a family watched footage from Bad Bunny's recent Grammy acceptance speech. He then handed his Grammy trophy to a young boy -- something that can be read as a passing of the torch, or a reference to future generations growing up in the same reality.
5. Other personal and cultural references also followed. Tonita, owner of the Caribbean Social Club in New York, a space tied to Puerto Rican identity, made an appearance. Bad Bunny has long referenced her in his music and even helped raise funds to save the club.
6. A brief shot showed a child asleep on two chairs at a wedding, a familiar scene for many Latino families, where children grow up attending long celebrations and making do wherever they can rest.
7. The set design echoed everyday life: colourful bodegas, food stalls selling piragua and coco frio, green sugar fields, and the iconic pink La Casita. There was even a real wedding on stage, a reminder of love and community.
8. Latin celebrities like Cardi B, Jessica Alba, Karol G, Young Miko and Pedro Pascal appeared during the performance. Lady Gaga joined Bad Bunny for a salsa version of Die With a Smile, ending in a dance break. Ricky Martin also made a surprise appearance against a recreated backdrop from Bad Bunny's DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS album cover.
9. The show closed with Bad Bunny saying, "God bless America", before naming every country across North, Central and South America. As people walked alongside him carrying flags from across the region, a billboard appeared behind them: "The only thing more powerful than hate is love."

It was a clear message: America is bigger than borders.

Trump's criticism

Hours after the performance, Donald Trump shared a note on Truth Social to criticise the show. He called it "absolutely terrible" and "one of the worst ever," saying it was "an affront to the Greatness of America."

Trump complained that the performance didn't reflect American standards of success or creativity, objected to the Spanish-language songs, and criticised the choreography, calling it inappropriate for children. He described the show as a "slap in the face" to the country and ended his post with "Make America Great Again."

Why the backlash, and the history of it

Trump's criticism wasn't just about music or dance. It reflected a long-standing discomfort within conservative American politics about cultural representation -- the idea of who gets visibility, whose language is heard, and who gets to define what is 'American'.

Puerto Rico became a US territory after the Spanish-American War in 1898. While Puerto Ricans are US citizens, they cannot vote in presidential elections. Large parts of today's US, including California, Texas and Arizona, were once Spanish or Mexican territories, yet Spanish-speaking communities continue to be treated as outsiders.

For many Latino artistes, this erasure has been a recurring theme. Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance fits into that history. It challenged the idea of a white, English-only version of America, something conservative politics has tried to protect.

The backlash was about belonging, not really about the performance.

Why Bad Bunny stands out

Bad Bunny has never separated his art from politics. He has repeatedly spoken about immigration, identity, and dignity. At the 2026 Grammys, where he won Album of the Year, he called out the language used against migrants, saying, "We are not savages. We are not animals. We are not aliens. We are humans. And we are Americans."

His music videos and lyrics often carry political meaning. NUEVAYoL features a Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty and a satirical Trump-like apology to immigrants. Songs like Debi Tirar Mas Fotos explore colonialism, displacement, and community loss.

The Super Bowl show may not have included direct speeches or slogans, but its intent was clear. It was a celebration of culture, memory and resistance, delivered on one of the biggest stages in the world.