This year’s Super Bowl halftime show has become a political football — and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is all too happy to pick it up and run with it.
Newsom, who is widely expected to run for president in 2028, announced that Sunday, Feb. 8, will be “Bad Bunny Day” in California, praising the singer’s “soothing, beautiful voice” and “his very nice looks.” Newsom also took a shot at Kid Rock, the MAGA-backer who will headline Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA rival show during Super Bowl LX’s halftime, needling him after artists have pulled out of Kid Rock’s Rock the Country festival and reprising the running gag that he has been “banned” in the Golden State.
“As many people know, I am a tremendous lover of ‘The Spanish,’” according to a post Saturday by Newsom’s official press office account on X — in all caps, mocking Donald Trump’s famous social media style. Spanish “is a beautiful language spoken by many beautiful people in the great State of California and across the world.”
Newsom’s post continued, “I am also a huge fan of Puerrrrrrrto Rico,” the U.S. territory where Bad Bunny lives. “That is why I am declaring tomorrow in California as ‘Bad Bunny Day’ when Bad Bunny performs at the big game in the Golden State.”
The post added, “We love Bad Bunny! He is nearly as ‘hot’ as me, which is a big compliment, because there is nobody ‘hotter.’ Happy Bad Bunny Day, America. Enjoy!! — Governor GCN.”
The NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny as this year’s Super Bowl halftime act made many MAGA supporters unhappy, because he sings in Spanish and because he has spoken out against the Trump administration’s brutal ICE immigration crackdown. After the Puerto Rican superstar was announced as the halftime performer, Trump claimed that “I’ve never heard of him” and “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
In a counterprogramming move, conservative group Turning Point USA is staging “The All-American Halftime Show,” which will be livestreamed online Sunday at the same time Bad Bunny will take the field at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara at the Super Bowl. Kid Rock is the headliner of the TPUSA concert.
Newsom’s press office, in a separate post Saturday, cited the cancellation of Kid Rock’s Rock the Country performances in South Carolina this summer after Shinedown became the fourth artist to bail on the event. “Kid Rock is banned from California. And now he is being banned in more places,” the governor’s office said. “Terrible music. Why is he so angry?” (Kid Rock is not actually banned from performing in California.)
Bad Bunny, the most-streamed artist on Spotify globally in 2025, made history at the 2026 Grammys as the first Spanish-language artist to win album of the year for his hit album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”
In an interview this past week on Apple Music ahead of the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny said the halftime performance is “going to be a huge party.”
The Latino superstar, when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October, had joked that people have “four months to learn Spanish.” This week, he said, “I know that I told them that they had four months to learn Spanish. They don’t even have to learn Spanish. It’s better if they learn to dance. There’s no better dance than the one that comes from the heart, the heartbeat dance, that’s the only thing they need to worry about and enjoy. And of course choose your team at the game.”
AS MANY PEOPLE KNOW, I AM A TREMENDOUS LOVER OF “THE SPANISH.” IT IS A BEAUTIFUL LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MANY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE IN THE GREAT STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND ACROSS THE WORLD. I AM ALSO A HUGE FAN OF PUERRRRRRRTO RICO. THAT IS WHY I AM DECLARING TOMORROW IN CALIFORNIA AS “BAD…
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) February 7, 2026