Karoline Leavitt Sampled Bad Bunny Song on Instagram Weeks Before Bashing Him as Super Bowl Performer

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Bad Bunny as the performer for the 2026 Super Bowl Apple Music Halftime Show, but weeks before the game she used one of his songs in a social media post.

On New Year’s Eve, Leavitt shared an Instagram Reel compiling highlights from her 2025, set to a mashup that included Bad Bunny’s track “DtMF.” Viewers quickly noticed the song choice, with some commenting that it seemed at odds with her later remarks about the artist.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, drew attention at the 2026 Grammys after winning Best Música Urbana Album and Album of the Year for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. During his acceptance speech for Best Música Urbana Album, he opened with “ICE Out,” then added, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens — we are humans, and we are Americans.”

Asked about his comments at a press conference after the Feb. 1 ceremony, Leavitt said she found it “very ironic and frankly sad” to see celebrities with wealth and private security “trying to demonize law enforcement” and public servants who enforce U.S. laws. She contrasted the reaction at the awards show with what she described as a lack of outrage during the previous administration, citing cases she said involved victims harmed by people who “should have never been in our country in the first place.” She added that law enforcement officials are “simply trying to do their jobs to remove violent predators,” and argued that the disparity in reactions reflected “unfortunate irony” in Hollywood.

Leavitt also addressed whether President Donald Trump would watch Bad Bunny’s halftime show or Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show,” saying she believed Trump would “much prefer a Kid Rock performance” over Bad Bunny.

Despite the criticism, a clip later posted on X appeared to show Trump at a Super Bowl 2026 watch party with the halftime show on in the background. Trump then posted on Truth Social condemning the performance, calling it “absolutely terrible” and saying it did not represent “the Greatness of America.” He also claimed “nobody understands a word this guy is saying,” criticized the dancing as inappropriate for children, and argued the NFL should “immediately replace” its kickoff rule.