Donald Trump will not attend next month’s Super Bowl in California, saying the trip is “just too far away”. The president told the New York Post he would have considered going if the flight to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara were shorter, but has decided to skip the 8 February championship game.
His decision means he will not repeat his appearance at last year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, where he became the first sitting US president to attend the NFL’s showcase event. Trump has made high-profile visits to sporting events a regular feature of his second term, including the Daytona 500, the college football national championship and the Ryder Cup, most of which were held near the US east coast or Florida.
Trump also criticised the NFL’s entertainment lineup, calling the choice of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny as half-time headliner and punk band Green Day as pregame act “terrible”. He said, “All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.” In previous interviews, Trump had described Bad Bunny’s selection as “absolutely ridiculous”. Bad Bunny, a vocal critic of Trump, performed a month-long concert residency in Puerto Rico last year rather than touring the mainland.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in October the league would not reconsider its decision, citing Bad Bunny’s global popularity. Goodell dismissed the backlash as typical and said, “We’re confident it’s going to be a great show.” Trump insisted the performers had nothing to do with his absence. The Super Bowl, which averages nearly 130 million US viewers, will see the conference champions decided after Sunday’s games.
