EL TIPO DE CAMBIO DE HOY ES DE: We’re starting with the talk of the town all week, the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny. The Left cheered it. Fans who don’t care about politics loved it for what it was. Many on the Right booed it, offered their own alternative halftime show, and despite all the criticism, couldn’t stop talking about it. Some even hosted four-man panels, without a single Latino voice, dissecting the performance as if it were a doctoral defense on the future of Western civilization rather than a halftime show that exposed deeper tensions about identity, culture, and who gets to define what “American” entertainment looks like.
The Super Bowl was never meant to please everyone. It can’t. For me, as a Puerto Rican conservative who is unapologetically pro-Trump and pro-law enforcement, it honestly was not that deep. We have bigger fish to fry, bigger battles to fight, and bigger hills to climb in the grand scheme of things. I’ll be honest. I don’t care much for football. If I tune into the Super Bowl, it’s usually for the halftime show, the annual spectacle that draws millions of viewers like me to watch a global artist take center stage. This year, that artist was Bad Bunny. I’ve always known his politics to lean heavily left, from advocating for Puerto Rican independence to publicly criticizing President Trump and ICE policies. But here’s the hot take I’m willing to put on the table. I don’t care. I like his music, not his politics.
His music is catchy, culturally relevant, highlighting some of the most local and historic musical instruments of our island, and unapologetically Puerto Rican – which is something I can respect even when I reject his politics. He’s proud of his roots, and so am I. That’s about as far as our common ground goes. And despite being handed over one of the biggest national platforms imaginable, he delivered a performance that was far more restrained and music-focused than many expected. For a few minutes, it allowed people across political lines to simply dance, celebrate culture, and step away from the constant tension of the news cycle – especially among other Hispanics/Latinos that are not Puerto Rican who identify with Puerto Rican music in their own ways.
And that’s where I think many conservatives missed the bigger picture. The halftime show was never going to be a reflection of everyone’s values, and it was never designed to be.
But turning it into a cultural battlefield, some voices on our side gave it more politicalweight than it organically carried. Instead of focusing on policy wins, coalition growth, or the momentum heading into the midterms, we found ourselves arguing about playlists and performances, debates that ultimately distract from the broader goals many conservatives claim to prioritize. Conservatives didn’t just react to the halftime show. In many ways, they amplified it.
Endless debates, viral outrage clips, and panel discussions turned a performance into a week-long political spectacle. In an attention economy, outrage is oxygen, and by feeding it, some voices on our side may have elevated the very platform they claimed to oppose.
Despite all the controversy, the show still ranked among the most watched halftime performances in recent history, proving that cultural relevance doesn’t always align with political approval. If anything, the reaction cycle may have helped drive curiosity and viewership far beyond what would have happened organically.
The argument was never really about explicit lyrics or morality, even though that’s how it was framed online. If it were, half of the artists played at conservative rallies or celebrated by mainstream audiences across the political spectrum would be under the same scrutiny. Plenty of conservatives openly enjoy Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, or other pop and country artists whose music includes themes just as provocative. Kid Rock himself, often positioned as an alternative cultural symbol, is hardly a model of moral perfection either.
Music has always existed in a gray area where personal taste does not equal political alignment, and pretending otherwise only exposes a double standard that younger voters can spot instantly.
What concerned me far more than the performance itself was the shift in rhetoric from a small but loud corner of the Right. The conversation stopped being about music and started drifting into arguments about language, identity, and who counts as truly American.
I saw commentary suggesting that Spanish should somehow be unwelcome in a country where millions of citizens, including Puerto Ricans like me, grow up bilingual and contribute daily to the nation’s cultural and economic fabric. As someone whose work revolves around communicating with Hispanic audiences in both English and Spanish, that framing doesn’t just miss the point. It risks undoing years of coalition-building that helped deliver real political victories, including the historic Hispanic turnout seen in the 2024 election in favor of President Donald Trump and the record gains in the Republican Party. Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Spanish is not foreign to America’s story. Hispanic American conservatives are not outsiders trying to reshape the country from the margins.
We are citizens, voters, entrepreneurs, parents, veterans, and professionals who help continue to strengthen and define what modern American conservatism looks like. Whenconversations shift toward exclusionary language or debates rooted in “whiteness” or racial purity narratives, they don’t strengthen the movement – they actually shrink it. And at a time when Hispanic voters continue to grow in influence heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond, that is a strategic mistake we simply cannot afford to make. Gen Z and younger voters, in particular, don’t view culture through rigid partisan filters.
They don’t sort their playlists by ideology, and expecting them to abandon artists simply because of political disagreements is unrealistic. Many younger conservatives exist comfortably in culturally diverse spaces, listening to music in multiple languages and engaging with artists whose personal beliefs may not mirror their own. Turning a halftime performance into a loyalty test risks alienating the very voters the movement has spent years trying to reach. Cultural fluency doesn’t weaken conservatism. In many ways, it strengthens it by allowing the message to resonate across communities that feel seen rather than policed.
At the end of the day, separating art from the artist is not a sign of moral compromise. It’s a recognition that culture is complex and that Americans of all backgrounds engage with music, film, and entertainment in different ways. Expecting ideological purity from every performer and fan or listener is not only unrealistic, it shifts the focus away from the real political battles that matter most: economic opportunity, national security, immigration reform, and the policies shaping everyday lives.
If conservatives want to maintain the coalition that helped deliver victories in 2024, we need to be strategic about the fights we choose. Not every cultural moment deserves to become a defining ideological battle. Sometimes, the smartest move is to recognize that music is subjective, that Americans have diverse tastes, and that unity doesn’t require uniformity. The Hispanic community is not a monolith. We are bilingual, culturally dynamic, and deeply woven into the American story. And whether critics like it or not, Spanish-language music, Puerto Rican artists, and Latino culture are not temporary trends. They are part of what this country is today and have shaped the fabric of this country for generations – and will continue to do so.
We have bigger fish to fry. Midterm elections are approaching, policy debates are intensifying, and the future of the conservative movement will depend on its ability to expand rather than contract. The Bad Bunny halftime show may have dominated headlines for a week, but it should not define our priorities. If anything, it should serve as a reminder that cultural moments come and go, while coalition-building and political strategy require discipline, perspective, and a willingness to focus on what truly moves the country forward. God Bless America.
We’re starting with the talk of the town all week, the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny. The Left cheered it. Fans who don’t care about politics loved it for what it was. Many on the Right booed it, offered their own alternative halftime show, and despite all the criticism, couldn’t stop talking about it. Some even hosted four-man panels, without a single Latino voice, dissecting the performance as if it were a doctoral defense on the future of Western civilization rather than a halftime show that exposed deeper tensions about identity, culture, and who gets to define what “American” entertainment looks like.
The Super Bowl was never meant to please everyone. It can’t. For me, as a Puerto Rican conservative who is unapologetically pro-Trump and pro-law enforcement, it honestly was not that deep. We have bigger fish to fry, bigger battles to fight, and bigger hills to climb in the grand scheme of things. I’ll be honest. I don’t care much for football. If I tune into the Super Bowl, it’s usually for the halftime show, the annual spectacle that draws millions of viewers like me to watch a global artist take center stage. This year, that artist was Bad Bunny. I’ve always known his politics to lean heavily left, from advocating for Puerto Rican independence to publicly criticizing President Trump and ICE policies. But here’s the hot take I’m willing to put on the table. I don’t care. I like his music, not his politics.
His music is catchy, culturally relevant, highlighting some of the most local and historic musical instruments of our island, and unapologetically Puerto Rican – which is something I can respect even when I reject his politics. He’s proud of his roots, and so am I. That’s about as far as our common ground goes. And despite being handed over one of the biggest national platforms imaginable, he delivered a performance that was far more restrained and music-focused than many expected. For a few minutes, it allowed people across political lines to simply dance, celebrate culture, and step away from the constant tension of the news cycle – especially among other Hispanics/Latinos that are not Puerto Rican who identify with Puerto Rican music in their own ways.
And that’s where I think many conservatives missed the bigger picture. The halftime show was never going to be a reflection of everyone’s values, and it was never designed to be.
But turning it into a cultural battlefield, some voices on our side gave it more politicalweight than it organically carried. Instead of focusing on policy wins, coalition growth, or the momentum heading into the midterms, we found ourselves arguing about playlists and performances, debates that ultimately distract from the broader goals many conservatives claim to prioritize. Conservatives didn’t just react to the halftime show. In many ways, they amplified it.
Endless debates, viral outrage clips, and panel discussions turned a performance into a week-long political spectacle. In an attention economy, outrage is oxygen, and by feeding it, some voices on our side may have elevated the very platform they claimed to oppose.
Despite all the controversy, the show still ranked among the most watched halftime performances in recent history, proving that cultural relevance doesn’t always align with political approval. If anything, the reaction cycle may have helped drive curiosity and viewership far beyond what would have happened organically.
The argument was never really about explicit lyrics or morality, even though that’s how it was framed online. If it were, half of the artists played at conservative rallies or celebrated by mainstream audiences across the political spectrum would be under the same scrutiny. Plenty of conservatives openly enjoy Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, or other pop and country artists whose music includes themes just as provocative. Kid Rock himself, often positioned as an alternative cultural symbol, is hardly a model of moral perfection either.
Music has always existed in a gray area where personal taste does not equal political alignment, and pretending otherwise only exposes a double standard that younger voters can spot instantly.
What concerned me far more than the performance itself was the shift in rhetoric from a small but loud corner of the Right. The conversation stopped being about music and started drifting into arguments about language, identity, and who counts as truly American.
I saw commentary suggesting that Spanish should somehow be unwelcome in a country where millions of citizens, including Puerto Ricans like me, grow up bilingual and contribute daily to the nation’s cultural and economic fabric. As someone whose work revolves around communicating with Hispanic audiences in both English and Spanish, that framing doesn’t just miss the point. It risks undoing years of coalition-building that helped deliver real political victories, including the historic Hispanic turnout seen in the 2024 election in favor of President Donald Trump and the record gains in the Republican Party. Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Spanish is not foreign to America’s story. Hispanic American conservatives are not outsiders trying to reshape the country from the margins.
We are citizens, voters, entrepreneurs, parents, veterans, and professionals who help continue to strengthen and define what modern American conservatism looks like. Whenconversations shift toward exclusionary language or debates rooted in “whiteness” or racial purity narratives, they don’t strengthen the movement – they actually shrink it. And at a time when Hispanic voters continue to grow in influence heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond, that is a strategic mistake we simply cannot afford to make. Gen Z and younger voters, in particular, don’t view culture through rigid partisan filters.
They don’t sort their playlists by ideology, and expecting them to abandon artists simply because of political disagreements is unrealistic. Many younger conservatives exist comfortably in culturally diverse spaces, listening to music in multiple languages and engaging with artists whose personal beliefs may not mirror their own. Turning a halftime performance into a loyalty test risks alienating the very voters the movement has spent years trying to reach. Cultural fluency doesn’t weaken conservatism. In many ways, it strengthens it by allowing the message to resonate across communities that feel seen rather than policed.
At the end of the day, separating art from the artist is not a sign of moral compromise. It’s a recognition that culture is complex and that Americans of all backgrounds engage with music, film, and entertainment in different ways. Expecting ideological purity from every performer and fan or listener is not only unrealistic, it shifts the focus away from the real political battles that matter most: economic opportunity, national security, immigration reform, and the policies shaping everyday lives.
If conservatives want to maintain the coalition that helped deliver victories in 2024, we need to be strategic about the fights we choose. Not every cultural moment deserves to become a defining ideological battle. Sometimes, the smartest move is to recognize that music is subjective, that Americans have diverse tastes, and that unity doesn’t require uniformity. The Hispanic community is not a monolith. We are bilingual, culturally dynamic, and deeply woven into the American story. And whether critics like it or not, Spanish-language music, Puerto Rican artists, and Latino culture are not temporary trends. They are part of what this country is today and have shaped the fabric of this country for generations – and will continue to do so.
We have bigger fish to fry. Midterm elections are approaching, policy debates are intensifying, and the future of the conservative movement will depend on its ability to expand rather than contract. The Bad Bunny halftime show may have dominated headlines for a week, but it should not define our priorities. If anything, it should serve as a reminder that cultural moments come and go, while coalition-building and political strategy require discipline, perspective, and a willingness to focus on what truly moves the country forward. God Bless America.
