The halftime break of Sunday’s Super Bowl saw competing performances, with an official halftime show by Bad Bunny and an alternative MAGA performance hosted by Turning Point USA. Despite the plan for conservatives to reject Bad Bunny’s performance and praise their Trump-friendly competing show, some of the most prominent right-wing voices are deviating from these talking points.

Meghan McCain praises Bad Bunny, rejects political reactions to halftime show

Since Puerto Rican superstar artist Bad Bunny was announced as the performer for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, right-wing politicians and pundits have expressed outrage at the choice. The conservative organization Turning Point USA even organized an alternative show with MAGA-friendly acts, led by Kid Rock, titled the “All-American Halftime Show” (Puerto Ricans, including Bad Bunny, are American citizens). After the competing halftime events, many conservatives predictably criticized Bad Bunny’s performance and praised the Turning Point USA show. However, at least two prominent right-wing commentators are giving surprising takes on the show. Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain and a consistently right-wing political pundit, tweeted, “I’m sorry but I just genuinely question your taste level if you didn’t enjoy the Bad Bunny halftime show.” McCain added that “everything in life doesn’t have to be ruined with politics.”

McCain’s view drew mixed reactions. Some commenters agreed with her. “Exactly. It was a wonderful, joyful celebration of a fabulous part of America. Tragic that it’s become this negatively politicised,” read one comment.

Many, however, disagreed. “That show was political from top to bottom. Did you actually watch it?” challenged one commenter.

“Meghan, get a grip,” another commenter wrote in response to McCain’s take. “The music was horrid. You may enjoy diversity but call it out when it went all wrong.”

Candace Owens questions Turning Point show’s viewer stats

While McCain went against the opinion of many of her followers by praising Bad Bunny’s performance, pundit Candace Owens attacked both the Puerto Rican singer’s halftime show and the conservative alternative. “I am sorry but I hate both options,” Owens posted on X. “On The one hand, we have a half-time show presented without a word of English spoken. On the other hand we have an organization that scammed its views by paying platform advertisers, followed by influencers to pretend they broke records.”

Owens continued her skepticism at the Turning Point USA show’s claim that it had millions of viewers. She responded to a post that claimed that discrepancies in the viewer count and interaction numbers for the Turning Point USA show implied that the number of viewers was being inflated. “No, this is not a possible result if you truly had 5.2 million live viewers,” Owens posted.

By questioning the data of the Turning Point USA show, Owens continued her break from far-right forces like Turning Point USA and her increasing drift away from mainstream commentary. Owens has in recent years peddled outlandish conspiracy theories, including one about French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte that has led to Owens being sued by the Macron couple. A close friend of the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Owens has also pushed conspiracy theories about his murder and regularly criticized the leadership of the organization after Kirk’s death. Owens’ comments about the Turning Point USA halftime show also drew mixed reactions, with some agreeing with her suspicion and others condemning her. “Girl you have lost the plot!” explained one negative reaction to Owens’ posts. “Your hatred for TPUSA is apparent! I’ve never seen such jealousy in my life!”

Owens’ criticism of the Turning Point USA halftime show appears to be part of her larger animosity toward the organization, while McCain’s praise of Bad Bunny seems to have come from her simply enjoying his show. The opinions of both right-wing commentators, and the split reactions to their comments on social media, appear to show a divide within the conservative base, at least as far as Super Bowl entertainment is concerned.