ALBAWABA - Donald Trump skips Super Bowl, slams Bad Bunny and Green Day.
Donald Trump said he won't go to the Super Bowl next month in northern California because it's too far away. This statement comes as the NFL is facing backlash in the culture war over the acts chosen for halftime and before the game.
Trump told the New York Post that he will not be going to the title game on February 8 at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium because it is "just too far away." He did say that he might go if the flight was shorter, though. Trump won't be going to the Super Bowl again like he did last year in New Orleans, when he became the first president in office to attend the NFL's biggest game.
During his second term as president, Donald Trump has made frequent public appearances at major sporting events, such as the Daytona 500 last year, the recent college football national title, and the Ryder Cup in September at Bethpage, New York. A lot of those events took place near Florida or the east side of the US, not far from the White House or Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump also said bad things about the NFL's plans for the Super Bowl's entertainment. The Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is set to perform at halftime, and the punk rock band Green Day is set to perform before the game.
“I’m anti-them,” Trump said. “I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
In interviews, Trump had previously called the selection of Bad Bunny “absolutely ridiculous” and said he was unfamiliar with the artist. Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has been a vocal critic of Trump. Last year, instead of visiting the mainland US, he held a month-long concert residency in Puerto Rico.
Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, said in October that the league would not change its mind. After the league's owners' meetings, Goodell said that Bad Bunny was picked because he is famous all over the world and that the criticism was just normal for Super Bowl entertainment. And Goodell said, "We're sure it will be a great show."
Trump said that Bad Bunny and Green Day's presence did not influence his decision to skip the game. There is a long history of politically charged lyrics in Green Day songs, and the band's lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, has openly criticized Trump and backed protests against the administration's immigration policies.
Every year, more people in the US watch the Super Bowl than any other TV show. NFL numbers show that about 130 million people in the US watched the game on average last year, and another 62.5 million people watched it around the world. The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos will determine the participating teams after their conference championship games on Sunday. After that, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will play their respective conference championship games.
