ESPN star Stephen A Smith appeared to agree with Donald Trump’s criticism of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, was joined by Lady Gaga, Pedro Pascal, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba, Karol G and Cardi B as he headlined the halftime show at Sunday’s Super Bowl LX where the Seattle Seahawks trounced the New England Patriots by 29–13.
In a celebration of Latin and Hispanic culture, the Puerto Rican star, who was named Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2025, performed a number of his biggest hits, including ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ and ‘Tití Me Preguntó.’
However, many Americans took issue with the rapper’s all-Spanish show, including the president who claimed it was a ‘slap in the face’ to the United States.
And Smith, who exclusively told the Daily Mail that sending ICE agents to the big game would be a ‘disaster’ for Trump, claimed that the president had a ‘valid point’ when it came to his scathing verdict of Bad Bunny’s performance.
‘If most people don’t understand it because you’re speaking it in what they deemed to be a foreign language, that is a legitimate point that the president made. That part, said Smith, speaking on his self-eponymous show this week.
Stephen A Smith appeared to agree with Trump’s criticism of Bad Bunny’s halftime show
The Puerto Rican rapper headlined the halftime show at Sunday’s Super Bowl LX
‘That doesn’t mean that they had a problem with it. I’m just saying that his statement that most people didn’t understand what he (Bad Bunny)was saying. There’s millions upon millions of Americans that would have wanted to hear something in English other than Lady Gaga. That is true.
‘And me personally, it would have been nice to see JLo out there. Would have been nice to see Shakira out there, been nice to see a few people celebrating the Hispanic heritage. No doubt.
‘But it also would have been nice if some songs were in English. That’s all.
‘The president is speaking on behalf… of tens of millions of Americans who are like, ‘I didn’t understand a word he was saying because I don’t know Spanish.’ That is a valid point.’
Trump had said that the gig was ‘absolutely terrible’ and that there was ‘nothing inspirational’ about choosing a star who didn’t perform in English.
He was also deeply unhappy about some of the suggestive dancing because the Puerto Rican artist repeatedly grabbed his crotch and there were women twerking on stage.
‘Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World’, he said in is excoriating review on Truth Social.
‘It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence’.
Donald Trump took to social media to give his thoughts on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show
Trump scathing Truth Social post in full where he called the Bad Bunny show ‘absolutely terrible’
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, was joined by Lady Gaga, Pedro Pascal, Ricky Martin, Jessica Alba, Karol G and Cardi B as he headlined the halftime show at Sunday’s Super Bowl LX where the Seattle Seahawks trounced the New England Patriots by 29–13.
The football field at the Levi’s Stadium in California was transformed into a sugarcane plantation and included domino players, a Latino wedding and utility poles for him to climb up to perform.
Bad Bunny, a vocal opponent of Trump’s ICE agency, listed countries through North and South American while holding a football with the words, ‘Together, we are America’ written on it. A message on the big screen then read: ‘The only thing more powerful than hate is love.’
At one point he also placed his hand on a young boy’s head and handed him a Grammy. Viewers initially thought it was Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old who was detained by ICE agents last month. But in fact it was a young actor.
While fans called it a love letter to Latin and Hispanic culture, the performance angered Donald Trump who called it ‘an affront to the Greatness of America’.
He wrote: ‘This “Show” is just a “slap in the face” to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History!
‘There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD’.
As an after thought, Trump repeated his regular criticism of his least-favorite NFL rule, writing: ‘And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’
The Grammy winner performed almost his entire set in his native Spanish at Levi’s Stadium
Bad Bunny and Gaga salsa danced together during Die With A Smile, which she released in 2024 as a collaborative single with Bruno Mars
While Bad Bunny performed, millions of fans at home tuned into Turning Point USA’s alternative halftime show on YouTube headlined by Kid Rock, highlighting the cultural divide surrounding the choice of headliner.
Kid Rock headlined the alternative MAGA halftime show, with Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett also performing.
The initial plan was for the show to also be broadcast on X, but that was thrown into chaos just minutes before it was due to start and the stream was pulled.
In a statement, Turning Point USA said: ‘UPDATE: Due to licensing restrictions, we are unable to stream The All-American Halftime Show on X. Head on over to our YouTube channel tonight around 8PM ET to watch the full show.’
And that’s exactly what many fans did, with the stream peaking at over a remarkable 5 million viewers midway through the show.
