It's Game Time, America -- and Bad Bunny Is One Bad Hombre

Ruben Navarrette
Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:25:03 -0800
Opinion

SAN DIEGO — Jeffersonian patriots are bloodied but unbowed as they fight back against the Mad King's violent but futile attempts to reverse demographics, restore the cultural relevance of white people, and make America into the 1950's again.

Take heart, soldiers. Reinforcements are coming. And yes, the revolution will be televised; in fact, the audience is expected to exceed 125 million viewers.

A brave cultural warrior is joining the resistance. You'll spot him right away. He'll be the one wearing a bunny suit.
Updated: Thu Feb 05, 2026

SAN DIEGO — Jeffersonian patriots are bloodied but unbowed as they fight back against the Mad King's violent but futile attempts to reverse demographics, restore the cultural relevance of white people, and make America into the 1950's again.

Take heart, soldiers. Reinforcements are coming. And yes, the revolution will be televised; in fact, the audience is expected to exceed 125 million viewers.

A brave cultural warrior is joining the resistance. You'll spot him right away. He'll be the one wearing a bunny suit.

You were expecting something else? Maybe a gray-haired revolutionary in a brown beret with a knife in his teeth, vowing to reclaim Texas for Mexico?

To quote my teenage daughter: "Bruh." Mexico has a no-refund policy on stolen land. Besides, why didn't Americans return the Lone Star State before they messed it up?

The warrior is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, the global phenomenon known as Bad Bunny. A U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico, Mr. Bunny recently won three Grammy awards, including one for Album of the Year — a first for a Spanish-language record.

Latinos have gone from Public Enemy No. 1 to the nation's No. 1 attraction.

Now, as an encore, Bad Bunny is scheduled to headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LX, which will be held Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

The 31-year-old speaks English, but he insists on performing in Spanish. And that's what he plans to do as he steps on a big stage during the big game.

Last year, President Donald Trump — who in 2016 scolded former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish — eagerly signed an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States.

How's that working out, Grumpy? Not too well it seems.

With Trump, the immigration issue has everything to do with who is doing the immigrating. It's always about race, culture and language — and keeping out the riffraff.

MAGA prefers to believe the lie that immigration agents are — in cities like Minneapolis — entering homes without warrants, brutalizing citizens, disregarding due process and trying to meet a daily quota of 3,000 arrests all to preserve the rule of law.

That's adorable. Did all those law-and-order types happen to notice that the occupant of the White House has been convicted of 34 felonies?

Trump's "Official English" executive order harkens back to equally meaningless resolutions passed by city councils — in places like Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago and Minneapolis — to create "sanctuary cities."

Over the last nine months, The Don and his masked muscle have — by hook or by crook — rolled over those Democratic strongholds like a division of German Panzer tanks during World War II.

So much for sanctuary. For different reasons, it was convenient for both the right and the left to push that lie. For the sake of clarity, it's time to put it to rest.

Bad Bunny isn't resting. Part musician and part activist, he is a harsh outspoken critic of Trump and his grotesque deportation policies. While accepting one of his Grammys, he declared: "ICE out!" In 2025, he avoided performing in the United States because he was concerned about the safety and welfare of his fans.

What about the safety and welfare of all Americans?

Given that the task of carrying out mass deportations went to anonymous and poorly-trained agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol who are quick to "go to gun," it's no wonder that Renee Good and Alex Pretti — U.S. citizens who committed no crimes — are now dead.

That blood is on Trump's hands, and it won't wash off easily. Even the president is getting squeamish now that his immigration agenda has gone off the rails.

In a recent interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas, the president said that he would prefer "a little bit of a softer touch" in cities like Minneapolis.

There won't be anything soft about Bad Bunny's performance at the Super Bowl. He isn't just making history. He is also making a statement at precisely the right moment.

When the National Football League requested at the last minute that the show be in English, Mr. Bunny responded with a word that is the same in both languages: "No."

That slap was the verbal equivalent of taking a knee. It's hard to imagine the NFL didn't see it coming.

While appearing as a guest host of Saturday Night Live on Oct. 4, Bad Bunny spoke a little Spanish. He offered no apologies, only friendly advice.

"If you don't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn," he told a national audience.

Time's up.