(NEXSTAR) — It’s been a great post-Super Bowl week for global music superstar Bad Bunny. In addition to receiving acclaim for his Halftime Show, the Puerto Rican artist also saw a massive bump in streams of his music. Now, a new Yahoo!/YouGov poll finds Americans stand behind the bunny and his message of unity — and say he represents the U.S. better than President Trump.
Over 1,700 U.S. adults were polled after the Super Bowl, Feb. 9-12, and asked their opinions on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, and whether they approved or disapproved of the “DtMF” singer and his message.
While Bad Bunny’s show has been framed as controversial, the actual content of his show was a message of immigrants taking pride in both their heritage and in belonging in the United States. A screen behind Bad Bunny even read, “The Only Thing Stronger Than Hate Is Love,” while the Spanish-language artist proclaimed, “God bless America!”
In the poll, 30 percent of Americans who watched the Super Bowl said they liked Bad Bunny’s halftime performance, with only 8 percent saying they disliked it. Meanwhile, 31 percent of Americans said they approved of Bad Bunny performing entirely in Spanish, with only 11 percent disapproving.
When asked whether they approved of Bad Bunny’s message of unity, 60 percent of American respondents said they approved. Only 16 percent said they disapproved.
When asked “Who better represents America? Bad Bunny or Donald Trump?”, more Americans said the Puerto Rican music superstar does. Forty-two percent said Bad Bunny better represents America, with 39 percent choosing Trump.
The news isn’t likely to please Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform about the Halftime Show, saying it was “absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!”
From the moment the artist was announced as the NFL’s chosen performer, many conservatives were outraged that a Spanish-language artist had been chosen. In response, Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group, staged an “alternative” YouTube halftime show with Kid Rock as the headliner.
While it’s estimated that Kid Rock’s pre-recorded performance drew 6.1 million concurrent viewers on YouTube, Bad Bunny’s show received around 128.2 million average U.S. viewers. These ratings make the artist, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the fourth-most-watched Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner in history.
