President Donald Trump lambasted the Super Bowl halftime show performed in Spanish as an affront to America. He subsequently shared a doctored image on social media depicting a map of Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela draped in the U.S. flag, alongside scenes of discussions with European leaders.
In the early hours of Sunday, Trump posted what appears to be a manipulated photo from his August Oval Office meeting with European leaders.
During that summit, Trump had convened with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss strategies for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The AI-generated image shows Trump at the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk, addressing the European leaders. Prominently displayed in the upper left corner is a map of North America, including the continental U.S., Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela, all covered by the American flag.
Trump has previously voiced his intention to annex Greenland for national security reasons and has referred to Canada as the 51st state, highlighting its economic and security reliance on the U.S.
The U.S. has recently tightened its grip on Venezuela’s oil industry following the forced repatriation of former President Nicolás Maduro on drug-related charges.
Trump shared a similar composite image last month without additional commentary.
Shortly after posting a scathing critique of the Super Bowl halftime show, America’s premier sporting event, Trump shared the controversial image.
The 60th Super Bowl halftime show, held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, featured Puerto Rican Latin pop sensation Bad Bunny performing in Spanish.
Bad Bunny concluded his performance by waving the Puerto Rican flag and acknowledging countries from North and South America. He punctuated the show by forcefully throwing a football inscribed with the message, “Together, We are America!”
After winning Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on February 1, Bad Bunny criticized the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies, saying that before thanking God, he wanted to say “ICE out,” which heightened anticipation for possible political messages during his halftime performance. AFP reported that he ultimately chose subtle symbolism rather than explicit political statements.
In a Truth Social post, Trump expressed frustration, saying that the show was meaningless, an insult to America’s greatness, and failed to reflect the nation’s standards of success, creativity, and excellence. He also claimed that no one could understand a word the person was saying and described the show as a slap in the face to the country.
The British newspaper The Independent observed that Trump’s sharing of a map suggesting American expansion following Bad Bunny’s “Together, We are America” halftime performance seemed to be a blatant reminder of his expansionist ambitions, directly countering the artist’s message.
