commentary
Turning Point USA’s followers are pitifully out-of-touch with pop culture
Published
October 15, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
A Turning Point USA event at Virginia Tech University on Sept. 24, 2025 (ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
If you’re looking for an illustration of “coping mechanism,” you’ll find no better example than MAGA’s reaction to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) announcing “The All American Halftime Show,” an alternative to the actual Super Bowl halftime show, airing on Feb. 8. The event doesn’t have a lineup or even a location yet. But what the far-right organization, co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, does have is a groundswell of racist rage about the real Super Bowl halftime show, which will feature reggaeton star Bad Bunny.
There are contorted excuses for why MAGA is so mad that Bad Bunny, an American citizen born in Puerto Rico, would snag this plum gig. But absolutely no one is confused about the real source of the anger. Mr. Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio, raps and sings almost exclusively in Spanish. The delicate snowflakes of the right react to that language, which is spoken at home by over 40 million Americans, like it’s the summer sun swiftly melting them into the whiniest vapor imaginable.
When TPUSA posted about their halftime show, there was a flurry of hyperbolic responses from MAGA followers, hoping that hate alone would somehow produce an entertaining alternative to one of the most popular artists in the world.
When TPUSA posted about their halftime show, there was a flurry of hyperbolic responses from MAGA followers, hoping that hate alone would somehow produce an entertaining alternative to one of the most popular artists in the world. It was, in other words, the perfect illustration of what the kids mean when they accuse someone of posting “cope.” But at least these MAGA posts were far funnier, albeit unintentionally, than anything Elon Musk has ever posted.
“This will be more watched than the Super Bowl Halftime Show,” posted the Donald Trump superfan Matt Van Swol. “Calling it right now.” This tweet received 8,000 likes, which is likely larger than the number of people who will watch whatever tepid program TPUSA throws together.
“Finally, a wholesome family halftime show during football,” wrote Susie Pollick, who presumably voted for a thrice-married adulterer for president. “The demonic evilness has to stop and be wholesome and make people smile and feel comfortable watching something.”
On their website, TPUSA asked people to vote on what genre of music they want to see featured. “Anything in English” was the first option, lest you worry they care more about music than they do about hating anyone they don’t see as white. The results haven’t been announced yet, so we can’t know if “Classic Rock” will beat out “worship” music. But on X, there were plenty of eager Trump fans offering suggestions about the kind of artists they think will top Bad Bunny,