"It Was Terrible and Disgusting": Trump Slams Super Bowl, But Why?

Trump Slams Bad Bunny Over NFL Super Bowl Performance
Performer Showcases Act Emphasizing Unity Across the Americas

President Donald Trump unleashed harsh criticism of the Super Bowl, the United States' biggest sporting event and the championship game of professional American football, calling it "the worst ever." His remarks are being interpreted as targeting a Latin American singer who had criticized him.

Right after the halftime show of the National Football League (NFL) championship game held in Santa Clara, California, on the 9th (local time), President Trump wrote on his own social media platform, Truth Social, "It was really terrible. Nobody can understand what this guy is saying, and the dancing was disgusting. It is an insult to the greatness of America."

U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Latin American-born pop star Bad Bunny. AFP / Yonhap News

The performer President Trump panned was Bad Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio), a singer from Puerto Rico, a Latin American country. He took the stage for the halftime show held after the first half of the Super Bowl that day. Bad Bunny is also a singer who rose to stardom after becoming the first artist with a Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

Toward the end of the performance, Bad Bunny walked to the front of the stage accompanied by a parade of Latin American national flags, calling out the names of Latin American countries one by one. After finally shouting the United States and Canada, he stressed, "When we are together, we are America." He also said in Spanish, "We are still here." During the performance, a message reading "The only thing stronger than hate is love" appeared on the electronic display.

Some observers interpreted Bad Bunny's performance as an indirect criticism of the Trump administration, which has maintained a hard-line foreign policy toward Latin American countries.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration has been enforcing its immigration policy within the United States by deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Bad Bunny and other American pop stars have been openly criticizing it. At the recent Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny also shouted "ICE out."