Monday, February 9 | By Cate Martel |
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It's the Monday after the Super Bowl. Man, I wish the Super Bowl happened on a Saturday night or at least earlier in the day on Sunday. West Coasters, you're very lucky. | Right divided over Bad Bunny performance Super Bowl ad highlights Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to answer questions Today's purported Nancy Guthrie deadline McDonald's launching McNugget caviar kits
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Good Bunny or Bad Bunny? Everyone has an opinion: |
Millions of Americans tuned into Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show, but they had wildly different reactions to the performance, which has divided the political world. To one half of America, the performance by Bad Bunny (born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) was not as overtly political as some expected. There were no mentions of President Trump or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), like the singer made last week at the Grammys. Instead, it was joyful. The Puerto Rican singer used his show to celebrate the American dream, Latin culture and tout a message on a football that read, "Together, we are America." In fact, some of the only English spoken during the performance was Bad Bunny yelling "God bless America." The show ended with a parade of flags from across the Americas. But to others, that *was* political and divisive. The show was almost entirely in Spanish — a first for the biggest sporting event in the United States. The selection of Bad Bunny was itself also controversial, as his political views are also well known as anti-Trump at a time when the administration's deportation efforts are getting more attention than ever. |
The left celebrated the show's message of inclusiveness and celebration of Latin culture. The reaction on the right was much more nuanced. Trump said he thought it was "absolutely terrible" and "a slap in the face to our Country." He had a lot to say about it. Fox News's morning banner read, "Bad Bunny's halftime show ripped for language barrier, suspected political message." Meanwhile, Turning Point USA's alternative halftime show featuring Kid Rock got 6 million viewers at its peak (and 19 million total streams). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others proudly tuned in. But not everyone on the right saw Bad Bunny's performance as controversial. "I'm sorry but I just genuinely question your taste level if you didn't enjoy the Bad Bunny halftime show," conservative commentator and vocal Trump critic Meghan McCain posted this morning, adding, "everything in life doesn't have to be ruined with politics." Country singer Alexis Wilkins, who is FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend, called out the right and argued "Republicans need to unite and get on better messaging." She added today, "we can't give the left an inch of the ground we gained in the last election. … We all thought Bad Bunny was going to come out in a dress that said ICE OUT - but he didn't." Former White House aide Harrison Fields, who left the Trump administration in the fall, pushed back against critics dismissing Bad Bunny because of his Puerto Rican roots, noting his "Puerto Rico-born grandmother was a full American citizen—and she voted for Trump." He also posted a photo highlighting that the territory's current governor is a "REPUBLICAN." After boxer and Trump supporter Jake Paul encouraged his fans to turn off the show, describing it as "a fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America," his brother, Logan Paul, who also endorsed Trump in 2024, publicly condemned his brother. "I love my brother but I don't agree with this," Logan Paul posted. "Puerto Ricans are Americans & I'm happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island." Jake Paul later clarified his comment, arguing that he loves Puerto Rico. Former Trump aide Caroline Sunshine also posted an "unpopular but interesting take" noting that the Super Bowl halftime show "highlighted the institution of marriage." 💬 Follow today's live blog |
➤ MORE REACTIONS TO BAD BUNNY'S PERFORMANCE: |
Conservative activist Laura Loomer: "The [NFL] should apologize to the American people for flooding the Super Bowl with foreign flags. Totally disgraceful." 🔎 Full post Former NFL quarterback Robert Lee Griffin III — or RG3: "Many people didn't understand a word Bad Bunny said during his Super Bowl halftime performance, but it was iconic because you could feel the love of people and culture. Puerto Rican culture is American Culture. Together we are America." 🔎 Full post Slate's take: "Bad Bunny's halftime show applied one of the greatest lessons you learn as a part of an oppressed group: Joy is resistance," the liberal-leaning magazine wrote. |
➤ OTHER SUPER BOWL HIGHLIGHTS: |
That was a real wedding!: The couple featured during the halftime show was legally married during the performance. They reportedly invited Bad Bunny to attend their wedding. Instead, he invited them to get married live during his show. The little boy was *not* Liam Ramos: Some speculated the little boy in Bad Bunny's performance was 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose detention by ICE went viral. Well, it was not him. It was a 5-year-old child actor named Lincoln Fox Ramadan. Read more The plants were PEOPLE?!: I cannot get over this video of the halftime show set's bushes walking off the field. They're alive!! 📹 Watch ^ Side note, what a creative way to build a set that can be constructed and broken down so quickly. The ads all felt like they were about AI, crypto and weight loss drugs: A New York Times critic ranked this year's Super Bowl commercials: 1) Squarespace, 2) Dove, 3) Pringles, 4) He Gets Us, 5) Lay's. In last place is Hims & Hers.📝 Full ranking from 1st to 59th Trump's watch party: Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Eric Schmitt (Mo.) posted photos from Trump's watch party at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 📸 Graham's photo 📸 Schmitt's photo |
Ghislaine Maxwell is testifying, but don't expect much: | Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, testified virtually before the House today. However, she refused to answer questions and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent on the Epstein investigation. |
Congress is running out of time to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as negotiations have stalled. The government funding package that passed last week funded every agency through September, except for DHS, to allow for negotiations to reform the department's controversial immigration tactics. However, lawmakers are stuck. Negotiations have stalled and DHS funding runs out on Friday. Read more |
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Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than a week: |
The search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has entered its second week. Here are the latest updates: A car and a camera seized: "Authorities seized a vehicle parked inside the garage of Nancy Guthrie's Arizona home in addition to a wired camera from her roof after receiving a tip from one of her neighbors," Page Six reports. The second possible ransom deadline is today: Several media outlets received a possible ransom note demanding money in exchange for Guthrie's return. KGUN reports that a note threatened her life if a $6 million ransom isn't paid by 5 p.m. today. A new, heartbreaking video from Guthrie's children: "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie posted a new video with her siblings, offering to pay for their mother's return. "We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay." 📹 Watch the video |
— Some Republican senators have expressed unhappiness with senior White House aide Stephen Miller. Well, now a number of GOP senators are coming to Miller's defense. — Did you know the mascot of the Winter Olympics is a stoat? "A What?" The New York Times asks. "It's a relative of the weasel. Is it any stranger than Izzy, Gliz the ice cube or that hat from earlier Games?" Read more |
The Wall Street Journal: Stocks' Sharp Rebound Is Only Making Investors More Nervous The Washington Post: Trump set off a surge of AI in the federal government. See what happened. Politico: How cigars, whiskey and an old-school Oklahoman got the government funded |
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump is at the White House. (All times EST) |
3 p.m. Trump participates in a TV interview. 5:30 p.m. Trump participates in a policy meeting. 5:30 p.m. The Senate votes. 📆 Today's agenda 6:30 p.m. First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda |
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🍕 Celebrate: Today is National Pizza Day! To celebrate, here's a list of pizza deals for today! 🍟 McDonald's caviar sounds like an oxymoron: McDonald's is giving away free McNugget caviar kits as part of its partnership with Paramount Caviar. It comes with a tin of caviar, a $25 gift card to buy the McNuggets, crème fraiche and a mother-of-pearl spoon. It will launch on Tuesday at 11 a.m. EST at McNuggetCaviar.com. Read more ⛸️ This defies physics: U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin … oh, sorry, I mean the "Quad God" landed a backflip on one leg during the Olympics, making history. 📹 Watch |
In honor of the real attraction on Sunday, the Puppy Bowl, here are the highlights, which are mostly just adorable clips of the bowl. |
📺 Miss the previous issue of this newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video. |
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