Green Day Slams ICE, Trump Before Super Bowl Pregame Performance

SAN FRANCISCO — Super Bowl LX pregame performer Green Day delivered a strident public criticism of the Trump Administration in a concert just two days before the big game.

Performing at an invite-only Super Bowl week party on Friday at Pier 29 organized by Spotify and FanDuel, the veteran rock band revived its ongoing criticism of Trump-led activities of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This goes out to all the ICE agents out there, wherever you are: quit your shitty-ass job. Quit that shitty job you have,” said Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong. “Because when this is over—and it will be over at some point in time—Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, J.D. Vance, Donald Trump, they’re going to drop you like a bad fucking habit. Come on this side of the line.”

This was far from the first time the band has been critical of Trump and his policies, though it may have been their most specific. When the band performs their hit song “American Idiot” live, Armstrong often changes the lyrics to “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

Similarly, Green Day changed a lyric in another song, “Holiday,” on Friday to “the representative from Epstein Island has the floor,” referencing the recent release of millions of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest performance raises the obvious question of whether the band will say anything similar Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. Green Day will be part of the Super Bowl LX opening ceremony, and will perform as past Super Bowl MVPs are ushered on to the field. 

Halftime Considerations

Green Day’s appearance at Levi’s Stadium will precede the halftime show by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny. He, too, has been repeatedly critical of ICE tactics, and at last Sunday’s Grammy Awards said, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out.”

Politics did not enter into Bad Bunny’s press conference Thursday to preview the halftime show, and he instead promised “a huge party.”

The presence of both Green Day and Bad Bunny, however, already helped lead Trump to decide not to attend the game. He called the location of the game “too far away,” but also said of the two acts, “I’m anti-them… I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly stood behind Bad Bunny, even as criticism has grown in recent days among political conservatives.

“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated [Sunday], one of the great artists in the world. And that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” he said.

The conservative Turning Point USA will have a competing halftime program, “The All-American Halftime Show,” headlined by Kid Rock, but there is a long history of unsuccessful attempts to counterprogram the Super Bowl.