“Wear the mission. Text merch to 71776 for official TPUSA merch.”
Those were the first words greeting thousands of viewers as they joined Turning Point’s YouTube channel for the 15-minute countdown before their alternate All-American Halftime Show, as a chyron ran nonstop at the bottom of the screen, hawking merchandise and begging for text signups .
It was a fitting start for a slapdash night of music that seemed half-hearted from the start. The whole event was predicated on outrage from the MAGA faithful over Bad Bunny, a proud Puerto Rican who performs in Spanish, being selected to perform the Super Bowl halftime show. Because those angry about Bad Bunny couldn’t say the quiet part out loud — outside of Turning Point conspicuously surveying fans about what kinds of music they would want, and one of the choices was “Anything in English” — vague language was instead used to invoke patriotism.
Unfortunately, the All-American Halftime Show was unable to evoke much more than a shrug, with halfhearted pop-country performances that showed the limitations of booking a big show with minimal talent.
As the YouTube live viewer count approached 5.5 million viewers, Brantley Gilbert’s guitarist kicked things off with a solo electric guitar rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that would struggle to elicit more than polite applause from Jimi Hendrix. Drenched in red lighting, Gilbert’s set was inoffensive twang that felt like the emotional resonance was sucked out by a rock-and-roll vampire.
The only ear-demolishing moment came during Gilbert’s hip-hop verse in “Dirt Road Anthem,” with his fauxhawk looking less like a style choice and more like his hair hoping to escape ridicule. Ultimately, it was a reminder that while Gilbert said he took the gig because he “imagined my kids watching their daddy perform at halftime during the biggest game in American Football,” he hasn’t actually done that. The move here is carving out a niche MAGA audience and some appreciative Fox News hits, so just be honest.
The open-mic night trudged along, as bunny emojis menacingly flooded the live chat and broke up the RNC-lite staging of the musical acts. Lee Brice’s three-song set was accurately described by his closer, “Hard to Love,” and Gabby Barrett’s two-song blip proved these two artists still aren’t ready for prime time. Their gambit to align themselves with the MAGA crowd might be their only hope in elevating their careers.
The highlight was undoubtedly headliner Kid Rock, whose stage presence has elevated his career for decades. Starting energetically with bright lights, a big flag and a huge fur coat, it was fun for a moment to root for the guy taking a shot at the nearly-30-year-old rap-rock anthem “Bawitdaba.” Breaking it down with a big fedora and jean shorts, Kid Rock resembled someone’s fun-loving uncle four drinks deep in a Tampa karaoke bar. But it quickly became clear that the self-described “American Bad Ass” decided that lip syncing to the backing track was too square, so he just kinda…stopped. It was the night’s only truly unexpected moment.
A classical duo then played a lengthy string interlude, and Kid Rock was reintroduced with his very serious government name, Robert James Ritchie, to play a very serious song, a cover of Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t.” It was a somber moment that likely sent audiences scrambling to pop open another beer.
It’s jarring to remember that, prior to MAGA, Kid Rock’s biggest political affiliation was stumping for Mitt Romney’s milquetoast 2012 presidential campaign. Yet in 2016 — the year after his singles last hit the Billboard Hot 100 — he rode hard for the loud-mouthed Trump. Since then, he’s been riding that wave of partisan relevancy, popping up at random functions to rap at puzzled congressmen and sing mawkish ballads to wealthy donors. Hey, the Trump family is making money off of this MAGA thing — why can’t other grifters with merch stores full of American flag gear jump on the train?
Meanwhile, while the Turning Point show screamed about patriotism, Bad Bunny’s official show was filled with highlight after highlight of things that are exciting about America: A nation full of people who came here with talent and differences worth embracing. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, the visual storytelling evoked so many people living the American dream, from the workers in the opening segment, to elderly folks, female friendships, dancing, drinks and unabashed jubilation and unity.
Ignore the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of a few guys grinding on each other, and there was even plenty that the MAGA crowd would enjoy if they bothered to watch it: A real-life wedding! Beautiful women dancing! A great, big declaration of “God Bless America”!
But there was never going to be a good-faith effort to meet Bad Bunny’s show halfway. Like clockwork, Trump sent out a long message on Truth Social minutes after it ended, slamming it as quickly as possible. (Note to Trump: “Nobody understands a word this guy is saying” … he sings in Spanish, dude! Better take that cognitive test again.)
In the end, the final words shown during Bad Bunny’s performance were seen on a massive video screen: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
The final words on the Turning Point broadcast? “Get involved,” next to a QR code begging for more money.