Mike Johnson Wants Lee Greenwood, Not Bad Bunny, for the Super Bowl
The House Speaker’s halftime hot take has fans debating patriotism, pop, and what “American music” really means in 2025.
Los Angeles, October 8 EST: House Speaker Mike Johnson has entered the Super Bowl chat and he’s bringing Lee Greenwood with him. In what might be the strangest pop-culture crossover since Kid Rock started selling candles, the Speaker floated Greenwood, 82, as his pick to replace Bad Bunny at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
According to Far Out Magazine and The Independent, Johnson called Bad Bunny a “terrible decision,” arguing that the halftime stage should be reserved for “role models.” His idea of a fix? The man behind God Bless the U.S.A.
The Culture Clash Nobody Asked For
It’s hard to think of a pairing more mismatched or more perfectly 2025 than a conservative House Speaker wading into the Super Bowl’s pop-star wars. On one side: Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican global phenomenon who’s topped charts, blurred gender lines, and smashed streaming records. On the other: Greenwood, a Nashville veteran whose Reagan-era anthem has become a staple of Fourth of July barbecues and Trump rallies alike.
Johnson’s comments, made during an interview with journalist Pablo Manríquez, sound more like political theater than music critique. Still, they’ve stirred a predictable round of social-media takes from fans joking about a hypothetical halftime show featuring marching bald eagles to others pointing out that Greenwood’s biggest hit dropped when MTV was still showing music videos.
That said, the suggestion lands at a fascinating moment. The NFL has leaned heavily into pop-world spectacle in recent years Rihanna, Usher, Dr. Dre each bringing mass-culture flash to America’s most-watched broadcast. Greenwood, by contrast, is a nostalgia pick, a comfort-food kind of performer whose patriotism plays well with a certain slice of the country.
Lee Greenwood, Still Doing His Thing
To his credit, Greenwood doesn’t seem to be angling for the halftime slot himself. His official site hasn’t acknowledged Johnson’s comments, and his calendar looks more middle-America than Miami Gardens. He’s slated to perform at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert, Ohio, on October 17, part of his ongoing “American Spirit Tour.”
The tour’s tone is exactly what you’d expect flag-waving, heartfelt, unpretentious and fans continue to show up for the man who’s built an entire career around one indestructible song. “God Bless the U.S.A.” still gets spins at graduations, veteran tributes, and campaign stops, a kind of unofficial national hymn for certain crowds.
Why This Moment Hit a Nerve
What’s funny and telling is how Johnson’s offhand suggestion ricocheted across the culture in hours. Super Bowl halftime debates have become their own kind of annual pageant, where pop choices double as political statements. Remember the Eminem knee during Dr. Dre’s show? The Shakira tongue meme? The halftime stage isn’t just entertainment anymore; it’s a referendum on what “American” looks and sounds like.
So when a politician invokes Greenwood a man whose biggest cultural footprint is a patriotic ballad it’s less about the music and more about messaging. Johnson is signaling a return to an older brand of Americana, one that feels safe, familiar, and resolutely un-Bad Bunny.
Of course, that misses the whole point of the Super Bowl’s modern halftime playbook. The NFL’s been chasing global eyes, not just domestic comfort. Bad Bunny, love him or hate him, brings exactly that a transnational fanbase that speaks fluent TikTok, not talk radio.
The Real Headline
At the end of the day, Greenwood probably won’t replace Bad Bunny, and Johnson likely knows it. But in an election-year America where every playlist feels political, the Speaker’s remark is less about football and more about cultural signaling.
Greenwood, for his part, will likely keep doing what he’s done for four decades: standing on a stage somewhere between Nashville and patriotism, singing the song that made him a household name. And Bad Bunny? He’ll keep rewriting what American pop looks like in Spanish, in sneakers, and without permission.
Two artists, two Americas, one halftime stage that somehow manages to hold all of it.
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