President Donald Trump said in an interview published by the New York Post on Saturday that he will not attend the National Football League’s Super Bowl on February 8 at Levi's Stadium in northern California because the distance is prohibitive. "Just too far away," he told the newspaper, adding he would have gone if the trip were "a little bit shorter."
Trump noted that he previously became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl when he was present at the 2025 game in New Orleans. Since that appearance he has been visible at other high-profile sports events, including last year’s Daytona 500 NASCAR race and, as he described it, this week’s college football national championship. Both of those events were held in Florida, a short flight from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, where he often spends weekends.
The president also attended the Ryder Cup in September when the golf tournament took place in Bethpage, New York.
Trump told the New York Post he was unhappy that the Super Bowl’s halftime show will feature Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and that punk rock band Green Day is scheduled for a pregame performance. He described the NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny as "absolutely ridiculous," and noted that his supporters have strongly criticized the Spanish-rapping musician.
The article reported that Green Day has produced songs with lyrics critical of the "MAGA agenda." It said lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong has publicly expressed support for those protesting the administration’s immigration policies.
Despite voicing displeasure about the musical lineup, Trump explicitly said the presence of the musicians had nothing to do with his decision not to attend the game.
The NFL and representatives for Bad Bunny and Green Day did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Super Bowl has been the most-watched event in the United States in recent decades, the NFL said. According to the league, last year’s game averaged nearly 130 million viewers in the United States and drew about 62.5 million international viewers.
Trump’s explanation centers on travel distance rather than artistic choices or the performers themselves, and he framed his prior attendance at major sporting events as driven in part by proximity to his Palm Beach residence. The decision not to attend the February 8 game will leave the NFL’s championship weekend without a presidential presence that he had signaled would be conditional on travel distance.