COLUMN: Trump Skips the Super Bowl and Takes a Swipe at Bad Bunny and Green Day

The Controversial Rapper

Why does Trump hate Bad Bunny so much? The answer is simple: the Puerto Rican rapper has never gone easy on him. In July 2025, Bad Bunny released “NUEVAYol,” a track that features an impression of Trump’s voice saying, “I want to apologize to immigrants in America… This country is nothing without immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, and Cubans.” This pro-immigration message caused a huge stir. Bad Bunny, with his millions of Spanish-speaking fans, represents everything Trump opposes: openness, diversity, and acceptance of others.

The MAGA base in an uproar

When the NFL announced that Bad Bunny would headline the halftime show, the MAGA base erupted. Trump supporters accused the rapper of being a “massive Trump hater” and an “anti-ICE activist.” Some even organized a rival event, dubbed “The All-American Halftime Show,” headlined by Kid Rock. Because nothing says “patriotism” like boycotting the Super Bowl to watch Kid Rock in some warehouse somewhere.

I have to admit something. When I saw this story about the rival show, I had a moment of… how should I put it… pure sadness. Not anger. Sadness. Because this is where we’ve ended up. We can’t even watch a football game together anymore. We can’t even enjoy an artist without it turning into a culture war. And it breaks my heart, honestly. It really breaks my heart.

A Story of Resistance

Green Day isn’t the type to stay silent. The California rock band has a long history of taking political stances. In 2016, even before Trump’s first election, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong was already comparing the future president to Hitler. “The worst problem I see with Trump is his supporters,” he told the British magazine Kerrang! “They’re poor, working-class people who can’t make ends meet. They’re angry, and he’s exploited their anger. He just said, ‘You have no options, and I’m the only one who can help—and I’ll take care of it myself.’ I mean, that’s Hitler, man!”

The Controversial Lyrics

Since 2019, Green Day has made a habit of changing the lyrics to their hit “American Idiot” during concerts. Instead of singing “I’m not part of a redneck agenda,” the band sings “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda .” This change has been repeated at major events such as New Year’s Eve 2023 and Coachella 2025. In January 2026, Armstrong even declared during a concert in Minnesota: “I’m not part of a redneck agenda. I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

There’s something beautiful about this resistance. Something pure. Green Day could have kept quiet, cashed the check, played their songs, and gone home. But no. They chose to fight. To speak their minds. To take risks. And in a world where everyone is afraid of everything, where everyone is walking on eggshells, that’s almost heroic. Almost.

Too Far Away or Too Scared

Trump claims the Super Bowl is “too far away.” But no one really believes him. Last year, he attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. He left shortly after Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. This year, the game is taking place in California, a state Trump openly despises. But distance is probably not the real issue. The real issue is the fear of being booed. Sources close to the president have revealed that he was reportedly advised not to go to avoid being “mercilessly booed” in front of millions of television viewers.

A wounded ego

On social media, theories are flying. “He’s worried the network won’t show him constantly,” writes one user on X (formerly Twitter). “He’s afraid the crowd will boo him mercilessly,” adds another. Trump, who has always needed to be the center of attention, can’t stand the idea of being ignored or, worse, ridiculed. The 2026 Super Bowl risked becoming a nightmare for his outsized ego. So he chose to run away. To hide behind a geographical excuse. To pretend that he’s the one calling the shots.

And now, I find myself thinking… this is pathetic. Truly pathetic. A president who’s afraid to go to a football game because he might get booed. A president who’d rather attack artists than own his presence. A president who turns everything into a personal drama. And here I am, watching all this, and I feel… empty. As if we’ve hit rock bottom. As if we couldn’t sink any lower. But I know we can. I know we’re heading there.

A Confident Choice

The NFL stood by its decision despite the pressure. Bad Bunny will indeed headline the halftime show. Green Day will open the ceremony with a tribute to former Super Bowl MVPs to celebrate the event’s 60th anniversary. The league refused to give in to demands from the MAGA base calling for the cancellation of these performances. It’s a courageous choice in such a tense political climate. The NFL knows it will lose viewers, face criticism, and be accused of “wokeness.” But it has decided to stand its ground.

Sports and Politics

The Super Bowl has always been a political event, even when it pretended not to be. Presidents traditionally attend. Artists make statements there. Commercials convey messages. But this year, the political dimension is more visible than ever. Trump is boycotting. Bad Bunny is provoking. Green Day is standing their ground. The 2026 Super Bowl won’t just be a football game. It will be a cultural battleground. A clash between two visions of America.

I remember a time when the Super Bowl was just… a game. A moment of collective joy. A Sunday when everyone gathered in front of the TV with chips and beer. But those days are gone. Now, even football has become a battlefield. And that makes me sad. Really sad. Because I feel like we’ve lost something important. Something we’ll never get back.

Fans Are Divided

Football fans are torn. Some support Trump’s decision to boycott the event. Others criticize him for his absence. Debates are raging on social media. “Trump is right—Bad Bunny is a hate-monger,” writes one fan. “Trump is a coward who’s afraid of being booed,” replies another. The comments number in the thousands. Insults are flying. Camps are forming. The Super Bowl, which is supposed to unite people, is dividing them more than ever.

The artists respond

Neither Bad Bunny nor Green Day has directly responded to Trump’s attacks. But their silence speaks volumes. Bad Bunny posted a teaser video of his halftime show, promising it will be “a celebration.” Green Day continues its world tour, still altering the lyrics of “American Idiot” to criticize the president. Their message is clear: they won’t back down. They won’t apologize. They’ll put on their show, whether Trump is there or not.

And you know what? I admire them for that. I really do. Because they could have caved in. They could have apologized, watered down their message, or kept a low profile. But they didn’t. They chose to stay true to themselves. And in a world where everyone is afraid of everything, where everyone censors themselves, that’s almost revolutionary. Almost.

A Country in Shambles

This whole Super Bowl thing is just a symptom of a deeper problem. America is fractured. Divided. Torn apart. There is no longer any common ground. No more shared moments. No more common values. Everything has become political. Everything has become a battle. Even a football game. Even a halftime show. Even a song. You can’t do anything anymore without it turning into a culture war. You can’t say anything anymore without it sparking controversy.

The Cost of Division

This division comes at a cost. It wears people down. It makes them cynical. It destroys social bonds. It turns neighbors into enemies. It turns every interaction into a potential confrontation. And no one seems to know how to stop it. How to turn back the clock. How to regain a semblance of unity. The 2026 Super Bowl will be a mirror of this broken America. A reflection of what we’ve become.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Tired of this never-ending war. Tired of having to pick a side on everything. Tired of seeing people I love tearing each other apart over nonsense. Tired of living in a world where even watching a football game becomes a political act. I’m just… tired. And I know I’m not the only one. I know there are millions of us who feel this way. This deep exhaustion. This weariness.

The Mirror Held Up

The Trump-Super Bowl controversy holds up a mirror to us. And what we see in it isn’t pretty. We see a president who would rather run away than face reality. We see artists who must fight for the right to express themselves. We see fans tearing each other apart on social media. We see a society that has lost its bearings. We see a country that no longer knows who it is. This mirror is brutal. Merciless. But necessary.

The question that remains

The real question isn’t whether Trump will attend the Super Bowl. The real question is: how did we get here? How did we let politics invade every aspect of our lives? How did we allow hatred to become the norm? How did we accept division as our new identity? These questions are uncomfortable. They force us to look at ourselves in the mirror. To take our share of responsibility. To acknowledge that we’ve all contributed, in one way or another, to this situation.

I don’t have any answers. I wish I did, but I don’t. All I know is that things can’t go on like this. They just can’t. We can’t live forever in this constant state of war. We can’t keep hating each other over differences of opinion. We can’t turn every event into a battlefield. This has to stop. One way or another. This has to stop.

With or Without Trump

On February 8, 2026, the Super Bowl will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Bad Bunny will take the stage for the halftime show. Green Day will open the ceremony. Millions of people will watch the game. And Donald Trump won’t be there. He’ll be somewhere else, probably tweeting, criticizing, complaining. But the show will go on. Because the show always goes on. With or without him. With or without us. The world keeps turning. Life goes on. And we’re still here, trying to figure out how we got to this point.

I’m going to watch the Super Bowl. I’m going to watch it because I love football. Because I love Bad Bunny. Because I love Green Day. But most of all, I’m going to watch it because I refuse to let politics steal this from me. I refuse to let Trump or anyone else tell me what I can or cannot enjoy. I’m going to watch this game, and I’m going to try to remember what it was like before. Before everything turned into a war. Before everything became political. I’m going to try to recapture that simple joy. That lost innocence. And maybe—just maybe—I’ll succeed. If only for a few hours. If only for the duration of a game.

Signed, Jacques Provost