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Karina Babenok

Kid Rock’s Alternative Super Bowl Show By Turning Point USA Sparks Backlash Online

America didn’t get just one halftime show this Super Bowl Sunday. It got two.

While Bad Bunny took the stage as the NFL’s official 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show performer, a competing “All-American Halftime Show” was organized by the MAGA-friendly organization, Turning Point USA, to celebrate “American culture, freedom, and faith.”

“MAGA just got owned by Bad Bunny,” one commented online.

America didn’t get just one halftime show this Super Bowl Sunday; it got two

Image credits: TPUSA

Turning Point USA (TPUSA) staged the All-American halftime show on Super Bowl Sunday, February 8, with a country-heavy concert and a strong dose of red-white-and-blue imagery.

The show was a direct rival to the NFL’s official Bad Bunny performance and also a tribute to Charlie Kirk, TPUSA’s slain founder, who was assassinated by a rooftop sniper last year.

The hour-long spectacle was headlined by Kid Rock and featured performances from Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.

“This one’s for you, Charlie!” TPUSA host Jack Posobiec said as the show began.

Image credits: Turning Point USA

Brantley Gilbert was the first in the artist lineup, followed by Gabby Barrett and Lee Brice.

Closing the show was Kid Rock, who kicked off his performance with his rap hit Bawitaba and then segued into Cody Johnson’s hit song Til You Can’t.

Kid Rock introduced the song by saying he woke up one night with the track stuck in his head and felt there was “a verse that still needed to be written for this song.”

“There’s a book sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off,” he sang his self-written version onstage. “There’s a man who di*d for all our sins hanging from the cross. You can give your life to Jesus and he’ll give you a second chance. Till you can’t.”

The patriotic spectacle was headlined by Kid Rock and featured performances from Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett

Image credits: Turning Point USA

Charlie Kirk’s wife and the new CEO of TPUSA, Erika Kirk, was absent during the controversial All-American Halftime show.

She previously said her late husband would have been “so stoked” with their “pro-America” halftime show because he wanted to be “in the forefront of the culture war.”

“He would be fist-pumping at this … And what better way to honor him than to just get in the middle of this and be able to offer an alternative to families,” she told Fox News earlier this month.

Image credits: Turning Point USA

A tribute video was played for Charlie Kirk during the All-American Halftime Show, complete with a slideshow showing photos of Charlie, Erika, and their family.

“I want to honor God in all that I do,” a voiceover of Charlie was heard saying. “I want to be a great husband, a great father, I want to serve this country. I want to try to continue to lead this movement.”

Netizens slammed the All-American Halftime show, calling it a “Redneck Halftime!” and “Temu Halftime.”

“Not being able to speak even a little spanish or vibe with the music is low IQ as fuck hahaha,” one said, while another quipped, “Grandpa still calling himself kid lol.”

“Was this concert at the Dollar Tree 🌳 Parking lot lmfao,” wrote another.

“Turning Point USA having its own halftime show is actually a great idea,” read one comment. “It’s like handing toddlers an iPad so they stop melting down and everyone else can enjoy the real halftime show in peace.”

“You can give your life to Jesus and he’ll give you a second chance. Till you can’t,” Kid Rock sang onstage

Image credits: Turning Point USA

Running in parallel with the All-American Halftime Show was the NFL’s Super Bowl LX show, during which Bad Bunny performed some of his biggest hits for the screaming crowd.

Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin also made appearances, and a real-life bride and groom said “I do” in the middle of the performance.

Pedro Pascal, Cardi B, Jessica Alba, and Karol G showed up as surprise dancers as well.

Bad Bunny made history by becoming the first musician to perform a Super Bowl Halftime Show entirely in Spanish. But he did have one message in English displayed on a billboard at one point: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

Image credits: Turning Point USA

The Puerto Rican artist made the same statement during his Grammy speech, in which he called out ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on music’s biggest stage.

US President Donald Trump was quick to share his thoughts on Bad Bunny’s performance, calling it “absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!”

“It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence,” he wrote on his Truth Social website.

Image credits: Turning Point USA

“Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World,” he continued

After calling the show a “‘slap in the face’ to our Country,” he added that there was “nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show.”

A tribute video was played at the All-American Halftime Show for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk

Image credits: Turning Point USA

Among those criticizing Bad Bunny was also influencer Jake Paul, who lives in Puerto Rico.

The boxer slammed the Latin superstar a couple of hours before he took the stage.

“Purposefully turning off the halftime show. Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences (which equals viewership for them),” he wrote on X.

The influencer called Bad Bunny “a fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America” and added, “I cannot support that.”

“Someone posted a clip and everyone in attendance looked miserable,” one commented on the All-American Halftime Show 

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