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As Bad Bunny Slayed the Super Bowl, Turning Point USA Staged Its Own Weird Little Event
The counterprogramming to the halftime show was predictably xenophobic, but (perhaps) surprisingly low quality and poorly attended.
While millions of normal people watched Bad Bunny light up the 2026 Super Bowl with his star-studded, politically charged halftime show, the few, the proud, and the deranged were on YouTube—watching Turning Point USA’s “All American Halftime” show, a feat of counterprogramming announced shortly after the NFL and Apple triggered conservatives by announcing that the Puerto Rican superstar would headline the main event. And I was among the deranged.
Even before the program started, there were clear hiccups. While it was announced last fall to great fanfare, the All American Halftime Show didn’t have a lineup announced until six days before the performance. Plans to livestream it on X were scuttled at the last minute due to licensing restrictions. Although Turning Point USA said the show was set to start at 8:00 PM ET, those who tuned into the live stream at that time also had nothing to watch, thanks to an unexpected delay. Nevertheless, some streamers expressed their excitement for the show in the YouTube chat, sharing American flag and bald eagle emojis and their love of Jesus. “Not watching the Super Bowl or the Super Bowl half time show. Here on TPUSA for the All American Halftime Show,” wrote one user in a sentiment that was oft repeated. Around 8:10 PM, a countdown clock appeared on the page, informing the 1.2 million people streaming on YouTube that the show was about to begin. Soon, we’d all see what, exactly, the “All American Halftime Show” had to offer.
The answer? Not very much. An anonymous man in a blue suit and red tie opened the show with a short ode to Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA’s fallen founder. “This one’s for you Charlie,” said the man, before another man played the national anthem on an electric guitar. Rather than an arena or stadium, the All American Halftime Show seemed to take place in a large warehouse or a converted airplane hangar in an undisclosed location. Where in America were we, exactly? It was impossible to tell.
The stage was also confounding: a large runway ending in a big circle. Its vastness swallowed the performers, who went on without backup dancers or even a set. The only production elements were the occasional laser show and Turning Point USA’s signature, oft-memed pyrotechnics. LED screens served as the backdrop, almost exclusively displaying American flag imagery. The audience was kept mostly in darkness, with many faces covered by cowboy hats or red MAGA caps. Weirdly, they were standing on both sides of the runway and kept meters away from the stage. Perhaps they were split to give the illusion that more people were present—by my estimation, there couldn't have been more than 300.
This soulless, dystopian space was the perfect vessel for an empty endeavor. After the national anthem, rock country bro Brantley Gilbert kicked things off with a song called—wait for it— “Real American.” “Welcome to the land of the free and the home of the brave // We do it free style, you and me style, like we did in the good old days,” Gilbert crooned. Periodically, pyrotechnics would randomly go off behind him.
Things devolved from there. After Gilbert rapped—yes, rapped—during his second number, “Dirt Road Anthem,” country music artist and American Idol third runner up Gabby Barrett took the stage for her set. Wearing what can only be described as an oversized, wrinkled Hillary Clinton-style pantsuit, a shoeless Barrett sang her songs “I Hope” and “The Good One.” At least she utilized the entire stage, walking barefoot down the runway in what must have been an OHSA violation.
Then there was Lee Brice, sporting a leather jacket, an acoustic guitar, and face sweat. His song “It Ain’t Easy Being Country These Days” underscored the tenets of the All American Halftime Show, painting conservatives as an oppressed class. “If I tell my own daughter that little boys ain’t little girls // I’ll be up the creek in hot water in this crazy ass world,” he sang, getting a big cheer from the audience.
After Brice’s snooze of a ballad, the man of the hour took the stage: Kid Rock. Wearing a black shirt, cut off jean shorts, and a fedora, the 55 year-old opened with his raucous “Bawitdba”—which actually got the audience jumping for the first time all night. Although it was poorly lipsynced, Kid Rock’s devil may care energy was the first moment of the show—which at that point had lasted well over 30 minutes—that resembled fun. But rather than keeping up that rambunctious energy, Rock left the stage and was replaced by a musical interlude featuring a violinist and a cellist dressed as Jack Sparrow.
Rock eventually returned, but left the Kid Rock persona behind, instead performing as Robert Ritchie, his birth name. Like Brice and Barrett before him, he sang a Christian ballad—“Till You Can’t”—that he said he’d added a new verse to. “You can give your life to Jesus and he can give you a second chance,” he sang. After that brief moment of actual live performance, we were back to worship music. “In remembrance of Charlie Kirk,” read the screen after Kid Rock’s closing number.
The All American Half Time Show committed one of the worst sins a live performance can—it was exceptionally boring. Perhaps, though, that was by design. This show was never meant to entertain. It was explicitly born out of hate—for Bad Bunny specifically, and for Spanish speakers writ large. It’s hard to make something creatively compelling from a place of spite.
Adding insult to injury, the very voices who were supposed to champion Turning Point USA didn’t seem to have tuned in. While railing against Bad Bunny’s halftime show on Truth Social, Trump didn’t mention watching the Turning Point show at all. For what it’s worth, Charlie Kirk’s widow, Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk, did not make an appearance on the program either.
Even as a 35 minute ad for Turning Point USA, the All American Half Time Show was a spectacular failure. There was nothing special or bespoke about it—just four performers preaching to the choir on a big, empty stage in front of LED screens. Turning Point USA may have concocted this show to steal Bad Bunny’s thunder. Unfortunately for Kid Rock and company, you can’t compete where you don’t compare.
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