“Never heard of him,” the president said of the Puerto Rican rapper and singer who has criticized his immigration policies.

Bad Bunny performs during the final concert of his summer residency in his homeland at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 20, 2025. | Alejandro Granadillo/AP

President Donald Trump lambasted the NFL’s decision to tap Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the headliner for next February’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Bad Bunny, who performs primarily in Spanish and has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump-era immigration policies, will make history as the first male Latin artist to lead the iconic halftime performance.

Last month’s Bad Bunny announcement ignited outrage in MAGA world. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl, and conservative commentators branded Bad Bunny a “Trump-hater.”

Speaking to Newsmax’s Greg Kelly late Monday, Trump said he had “never heard of” Bad Bunny. “I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it — it’s, like, crazy,” he said. “They blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

He then pivoted to criticize the league’s kickoff rule, which he has long derided, saying it “looks ridiculous.”

Bad Bunny, meanwhile, has appeared unfazed by the backlash, mocking his critics in a monologue in Spanish on Saturday Night Live over the weekend. “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn,” he said.

The rapper and singer, who endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election and is one of the most streamed artists in the world, has excluded the U.S. from his upcoming world tour out of concern that immigration authorities might target his performances. Puerto Rico is an American territory, and Bad Bunny is an American citizen.

It’s not the first time politics has collided with the halftime show. At Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 performance, Lopez wrapped herself in a Puerto Rican flag and freed children from glowing cages, a move that was interpreted as protesting the Trump administration’s child separation policy.