A recent Yahoo!/YouGov survey, fielded Feb. 9–12 with 1,704 U.S. adults (margin of error ±3%), captured a moment: in a head-to-head question about who better represents America, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny narrowly outpolled President Donald Trump — 42% to 39% — while 20% said they weren’t sure. The poll arrived straight after a divisive super bowl halftime show, so these numbers read more like a snapshot of immediate reaction than a measure of long-term change.
What the poll measured and how
– The survey used standard national online sampling with quota controls for age, gender, race and region, then applied weighting to approximate U.S. adult demographics. That’s why a 1,704-person sample yields roughly a ±3% margin of error.
– Questions covered topline favorability and a few event-specific items: whether people watched the Super Bowl and the halftime show, how they felt about Bad Bunny
– Because the survey was taken in the immediate aftermath of the broadcast, responses reflect short-term sentiment tied to the event rather than deep-seated opinion shifts.
Headline attitudes and viewing stats
– Favorability for Bad Bunny: 43% favorable, 36% unfavorable.
– Approval of the NFL’s booking: 44% approve, 35% disapprove.
– Reach: 51% of adults watched the Super Bowl; 47% saw the halftime show. Among the whole sample, 30% said they liked the halftime performance, 8% disliked it, 8% were neutral, and 53% didn’t tune in.
What’s useful — and what to watch out for
– The timing is a strength: real-time reactions are great for understanding how a high-profile moment landed with viewers. The sample size is big enough for reasonable precision on top-line items.
– But online panels can miss people who don’t respond often, and event-driven polls can overstate the staying power of feelings sparked by a single broadcast. Also, question wording and order can nudge results — especially when margins are tight.
Language, the finale, and how people reacted
– Bad Bunny’s decision to perform primarily in Spanish didn’t seem to alienate most viewers. Among those who watched the halftime show, 31% approved of an all-Spanish set, 11% disapproved, and 5% were unsure — a sign that Spanish-language programming is increasingly accepted on big U.S. stages.
– His closing — reciting countries across the Americas, saying “God bless America,” and displaying a billboard reading “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” — scored especially well: across viewers and non-viewers, 60% approved of the ending, 16% disapproved, and 24% were unsure. That finale appears to have boosted positive sentiment broadly.
Demographics and political splits
– The sample leaned slightly Republican: 33% identified as Republican, 31% as Democrat. Ideology broke down as 33% conservative, 28% liberal, and 31% moderate. Racial composition was 63% white, 16% Hispanic, and 13% Black.
– Reactions varied sharply by group: – White respondents: 39% viewed Bad Bunny favorably vs. 41% unfavorable; 48% said Trump better represents America vs. 37% for Bad Bunny. – Black respondents: 57% favorable vs. 11% unfavorable for Bad Bunny; 61% said he better represents America vs. 9% for Trump. – Hispanic respondents: 51% favorable for Bad Bunny; 46% said he better represents America vs. 32% for Trump.
– These subgroup differences matter. When a large group tilts strongly one way, it can swing the national picture even if the
What this means in practice
– For media and advertisers: these numbers help fine-tune programming and sponsorship decisions. Not everyone who watched the game watched the halftime show, so targeting can be more precise.
– For cultural analysts: the poll offers a read on how representation, language and messaging play out on a national stage.
– For political operatives: cultural moments like this can affect short-term impressions among independents and minority groups, but favorable ratings don’t necessarily translate into political behavior.
Bigger-picture context and next steps
– Celebrity influence and political representation are increasingly overlapping arenas. Artists can command strong support among certain racial or ideological groups even as other blocs stick with political incumbents.
– Because the margin between Bad Bunny and Trump is narrow and within the poll’s error range, this result should be treated as indicative, not definitive. Follow-up surveys from other firms and over time will show whether this was a flash-in-the-pan reaction or the start of a trend. But the picture is complex: reactions differ by race, age and ideology, over half of adults didn’t watch the halftime segment, and the tight lead in representational preference sits close to the statistical margin of error. In short: interesting signal, worth watching — but not a wholesale shift.