Meghan McCain found herself in a familiar spot on social media Monday: being targeted for criticism by those on the right. In this instance, for defending the NFL’s vulgar, all-Spanish halftime show featuring Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.

The daughter of late Arizona Senator John McCain took to X to question the “taste” of those criticizing the halftime performance, and accused them of ruining everything with “politics.”

McCain’s observation and critique sparked a torrent of responses, many of them critical and questioning McCain’s tastes.

Others have pointed out that it was Bad Bunny himself who brought politics into the show.

When Ricky Martin appeared during the halftime show, he began singing a song called Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii, which translates as What Happened to Hawaii.

The song’s lyrics state:

They want to take the rivers and the beaches away from me. They want to take my neighborhood and for Grandma to go away. No, don’t let go of the flag, and don’t forget the le lo lai (song). I don’t want them to do with you what happened to Hawaii.

It’s pretty clear who “they” are in this song; it’s Americans. It’s also clear that, in Bad Bunny’s mind, the U.S. is an invasive force that will steal his culture and his family.

Regardless of one’s views on Puerto Rican statehood, it’s pretty hard not to see this as a blatantly political statement.

As Jorge Bonilla writes for Fox News, “Bad Bunny, who sings under the auspices of a record label founded by a former Venezuelan intelligence officer, would prefer that Puerto Rico separate from the United States in order to become an independent country — an option that only 12% of the island’s voters chose in 2024. The record shows that Bad Bunny also endorsed the pro-independence, Chávez- and Castro-sympathizing candidate for governor of Puerto Rico.”

Bad Bunny also closed the performance by holding a football that read, “Together, we are America.”

However, he showed this ball to the camera while appearing at the head of about 20 flags from Latin American countries (and the United States) and listing the names of just about every country in the Western Hemisphere, making it clear that he considers “America” to be a far broader entity than the continental United States.

Seeking to alter the perception of what America even is, pretty clearly qualifies as a political statement.