Subhead: They demanded subtitles, cried about “anti-Spanish rhetoric,” and suddenly became experts on Puerto Rico. It was the most embarrassing 13 minutes in conservative media history.
By Trump ShagKids
Published Feb. 18, 2026
It was the Super Bowl halftime show that launched a thousand angry Facebook rants. On February 8, Bad Bunny took the stage at Levi’s Stadium and delivered a 13-minute love letter to Puerto Rico, complete with sugar cane fields, domino games, and a roll call of every nation in the Americas .
What happened next was a beautiful, predictable disaster. The MAGA ecosystem—from the former president down to the most anonymous X account with a Confederate flag in its banner—collectively lost its mind. And in doing so, they provided a masterclass in the exact cultural ignorance they were so angrily trying to defend.
Let’s break down the tantrum, shall we?
- The Sudden Demand for Literacy Programs
Nothing says “patriotism” quite like suddenly caring about reading comprehension. Within minutes of the performance, conservative commentators began wailing about the lack of English subtitles.
Ex-ESPN anchor Sage Steele lamented, “If only there were English subtitles during the halftime show of AMERICA’s greatest sporting event” . Musician Steven Van Zandt, apparently forgetting he makes music for a living, declared the lack of subtitles “an insult to the audience” .
The irony is so thick you could spread it on a tostón.
For years, the same crowd has been screaming “THIS IS AMERICA, SPEAK ENGLISH!” at anyone who dares order coffee in something other than Anglo-Saxon. They’ve pushed English-only laws, mocked bilingual education, and insisted that assimilation means erasing any linguistic trace of one’s heritage.
But suddenly, when a Puerto Rican artist performs in Puerto Rican for 13 minutes, they’re begging for closed captioning?
It’s a remarkable transformation. Brad from Ohio, who just last week was ranting about how “they need to learn our language,” is now a passionate advocate for accessible media. He doesn’t actually want to know what Bad Bunny is saying—if the subtitle read “I love my homeland,” Brad would call it a secret Antfa plot. He just wants something to be mad about while he finishes his nachos.
- The ‘Anti-Spanish Rhetoric’ Experts Emerge
Then came the pearl-clutching over “division.” President Trump led the charge on Truth Social, calling the show “absolutely terrible” and “an affront to the Greatness of America” . Conservative commentator Benny Johnson described it as “Woke. Cringe. Unintelligible. Foreign.”
Far-right activist Laura Loomer—who somehow keeps getting quoted in serious publications—posted that there was “not a single white person or English translation at the Super Bowl” and actually tagged Border Czar Tom Homan to request an ICE raid on the halftime show .
Let’s pause to appreciate the staggering lack of self-awareness.
These are the same people who spent years demanding boycotts of anything with a Spanish word in it. They’ve built entire careers on the premise that multiculturalism is a threat to civilization. And now they’re upset that a Latino artist performed… Latino music?
The performance included a billboard reading “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” and a football with the message “Together, we are America” . But sure, tell us more about how they’re the ones being divisive.
- The Puerto Rico History Lesson They Never Asked For
Perhaps the most glorious moment of the evening came when MAGA world suddenly became armchair experts on Caribbean geopolitics.
Bad Bunny’s performance wasn’t just a party—it was a carefully constructed history lesson. The opening scene in sugar cane fields? That’s a nod to centuries of colonial exploitation and enslaved labor . The sparking electricity poles during “El Apagón”? That’s about Puerto Rico’s crumbling power grid and the blackouts that have plagued the island for years . The list of countries at the end, placing the U.S. and Canada after nearly every nation in Latin America? That’s a statement about hemispheric unity versus American exceptionalism .
And how did our conservative commentators respond?
By demanding to know why he was being “political.”
By insisting he “bring up problems” during a football game.
By calling it a “humiliation ritual” .
The cognitive dissonance is breathtaking. These are people who demand reverence for their own history, who want flags everywhere and anthems at every event. But the moment a brown man from a U.S. territory uses the world’s biggest stage to highlight the very real consequences of that relationship—the neglect, the corruption, the infrastructure failures—suddenly history is “too political.”
Brad, who couldn’t find Puerto Rico on a map without the help of a cruise ship brochure, is now furious that he’s being educated against his will.
- The MAGA Civil War Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s where it gets truly delicious: the outrage wasn’t even unanimous on the right.
While Trump was posting angry all-caps rants, other conservatives were actually… defending the show?
Harrison Fields, a former Trump press aide, pointed out that his Puerto Rico-born grandmother was “a full American citizen—and she voted for Trump” . Vivianca Rodriguez, who worked on the Trump campaign, warned that complaining about the show was “alienating [the] Puerto Rican conservative base” .
Even the Paul brothers fought about it. Jake called Bad Bunny a “fake American citizen,” while Logan clapped back: “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island” .
Nothing says “united movement” quite like arguing about whether a U.S. citizen is American enough while the other side watches in amusement.
The Bitter Punchline
Here’s what the complainers missed while they were typing angry tweets:
Bad Bunny’s show was watched by over 135 million people worldwide . It featured a real wedding, with the artist serving as a witness . It celebrated not just Puerto Rico, but the entire hemisphere—from Argentina to Canada . It won Album of the Year at the Grammys the week before, the first non-English language album to do so .
And despite the howling, it was spectacular.
The people demanding subtitles didn’t need them. The people crying about division missed the message of unity written on the football. The people furious about Puerto Rico “politics” learned nothing about the island they were suddenly so concerned about.
In the end, the joke was always on them. They thought the performance was about America. It was about the Americas. They thought it was a snub. It was an invitation. They demanded to understand the words. They missed the meaning entirely.
As Bad Bunny said at the end, holding up that football for the camera: “Mi Patria Puerto Rico, seguimos aquí” .
Translation for those still waiting on subtitles: “My homeland Puerto Rico, we are still here.”
And apparently, that’s the most offensive thing of all.