'Who?' MAGA's reveal of alternative Super Bowl performers flops spectacularly
The right-wing group Turning Point USA earned widespread mockery Monday after revealing who will perform at its alternative half-time show after MAGA fans turned on the NFL over its decision to have Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl half time show.
President Donald Trump fumed after the NFL announced last year that international superstar Bad Bunny would perform at the Super Bowl. The choice of the Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, to perform at the massive sporting event was greeted with outrage by the president’s MAGA base because he has vociferously opposed Trump’s immigration policies and because they fear he will sing in Spanish. At the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Bad Bunny delivered a sharp rebuke again to Trump and MAGA, declaring, "ICE out," and calling for love over hate.
On Monday, Turning Point USA revealed who would perform at the organization's MAGA-friendly alternative, headlined by Trump ally Kid Rock. Also slated to perform: country rock singer Brantley Gilbert, country music singer Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, a country singer who shot to fame on "American Idol."
Pete Mundo of lamented on X, " and
Jay Willis, editor in chief of Balls and Strikes, wrote on Bluesky, "As a country music enthusiast I can confirm that this is absolute bottom of the barrel s---. None of these people have had a hit in five years, and you have to go back to 2011-12 for when Brice and Gilbert were really relevant. This is the lineup you get when you get hundreds of no thank yous first."
Barry Lyga, bestselling author of the "I Hunt Killers" trilogy, chided on Bluesky, "That's qwhite the line-up."
Will Piner in Raleigh chimed in on Bluesky, "A real Who’s… who?"