The White House officially reacted to the news of Latin global superstar Bad Bunny being named as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer during a Friday press briefing.
When asked about the announcement, which has sparked criticism from conservatives, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt demurred on divulging President Donald Trump’s thoughts about the entertainment selection of Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.
“I know there are many in this room who are very anxious to hear the president’s response to Bad Bunny being the halftime show performer,” said Leavitt. She added, “I won’t get ahead of him. I won’t reveal what he feels about this. Next time you all ask him a question, you’re welcome to do that.”
The Trump spokesperson noted that she has her “own feelings” about the Puerto Rican Grammy Award-winning artist performing at next year’s Super Bowl, adding, “That’s not what I’m up here to talk about.”
Leavitt did, however, clarify whether or not ICE agents would be stationed outside the Levi’s Stadium in California, after Trump Homeland Security advisor Corey Lewandowski appeared to threaten their presence at the Super Bowl.
“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you. So know that that is a very real situation under this administration,” Lewandowski said on a podcast on Wednesday.
The White House press secretary told reporters Friday that there is currently no “tangible plan” to send ICE agents to the Super Bowl. However, she emphasized that general ICE operations would continue as usual.
“However, of course, this administration is always going to arrest and report illegal immigrants when we find them. They are criminals,” she said.
Lewandowski scoffed at Bad Bunny being named as the Super Bowl halftime performer after the superstar excluded the United States from his world tour because of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which has included the detainment and deportation of undocumented immigrants.
“It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much to represent them at the halftime (show),” said Lewandowski.
In June, Bad Bunny called a group of ICE agents “sons of b—–s” in Spanish. Explaining his decision to exclude the U.S., he said, “There was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside (my concert)…it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
