Donald Trump reveals he won't attend Super Bowl LX amid backlash over the NFL’s choice of performers

US President Donald Trump announced that he will not attend Super Bowl LX on February 8 at Levi's Stadium in northern California. In a New York Post interview published on Saturday, Trump said the location is “just too far away” for him.

“It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve gotten great hands for the Super Bowl, they like me. I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter,” Trump said.

Trump, who became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl while in office in 2025 in New Orleans, said he would have gone if the trip was a bit shorter. In the past year, he has attended other major sporting events, including last year’s Daytona 500 NASCAR race and this week’s college football national championship, both in Florida. He also attended golf’s Ryder Cup in September in New York.

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Trump expresses displeasure over Super Bowl performers

Trump also expressed displeasure over the NFL’s choice of performers for Super Bowl LX. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show, and punk rock band Green Day will perform before the game. Trump called the selection of Bad Bunny “absolutely ridiculous” and noted that some of his supporters criticised the Spanish-rapping musician.

“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” Trump was quoted as saying. Trump had also criticised the NFL's choice last year, saying, “I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, and then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Green Day has also publicly criticised Trump in the past. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong has written songs critical of the “MAGA agenda” and supported protests against the administration’s immigration policies. Despite his comments, Trump clarified that the performers’ presence was not the reason he decided to skip the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl teams will be decided on Sunday, after the conference championship games between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.

The Super Bowl remains the most-watched event in the United States each year. Last year’s game drew nearly 130 million viewers just from US alone and 62.5 million international viewers, according to the NFL.