Green Day kicked off the Super Bowl opening show on Sunday – a calculated risk by the NFL knowing the band’s long history of political protest and sharp criticism of Donald Trump.
However, the Bay Area punk icons kept their performance outside Levi’s Stadium surprisingly apolitical with lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong refraining from making any political comments. After performing several hits including “Good Riddance” and “American Idiot,” the band ended the set by saying, “Welcome to the Bay, it’s Super Bowl 60.”
Why It Matters
Armstrong has repeatedly used the band’s catalog as a vehicle for political commentary, most notably reviving American Idiot with altered lyrics targeting Trump’s “MAGA agenda.” Though the NFL was unlikely to approve that version for broadcast, Armstrong has a track record of going off-script. In recent years, he has launched tirades against figures ranging from Oakland A’s owner John Fisher to Elon Musk, weaving topical critiques into performances.
With Green Day’s set airing on Peacock and NBC, fans and critics alike were watching closely to see whether Armstrong would once again seize the spotlight to deliver pointed remarks about Trump. Given the band’s history, the Super Bowl stage offered a high-profile opportunity for their protest ethos to resurface.
What To Know
Green Day’s decision to play it safe during the Super Bowl performance stands in stark contrast to the band’s performance at a pregame party in San Francisco on Friday.
During that earlier show, Armstrong announced he had a message for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, “wherever you are.”
“Quit that sh—y job you have 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 f—g habit.”
Armstrong also swapped a lyric in “Holiday,” to take aim at the many powerful figures who had connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the newly released Epstein files. Instead of singing “the representative from California has the floor,” Armstrong announced that “the representative from Epstein Island has the floor.”
However, Green Day did not change up any of their lyrics when they performed at the Super Bowl opening show ahead of the traditional solo performances of Lift Every Voice and Sing, America the Beautiful, and the national anthem.
What Has Trump Said About Green Day?
When asked how he felt about NFL’s decision to hire Green Day and Bad Bunny to perform at this year’s Super Bowl, Trump told the New York Post, “I’m anti-them.”
“I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
Green Day’s History Of Political Outbursts
Green Day has long been one of punk rock’s most commercially successful bands, turning politically charged songs into mainstream anthems. That legacy was thrust back into the spotlight after their recent nationally televised performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, where frontman Billie Joe Armstrong swapped a lyric in American Idiot from “redneck agenda” to “MAGA agenda.”
The change drew sharp criticism from conservatives, who accused the band of “selling out” and aligning with “big government.” Elon Musk even weighed in, claiming Green Day had lost its rebellious edge. Yet the outrage overlooked the band’s decades‑long history of targeting conservative politics.
Released in 2004, American Idiot was a blistering critique of the Iraq War and conservative media, with lyrics condemning propaganda and paranoia. Its companion single, Holiday, similarly attacked misinformation and congressional silence around the war.
Armstrong has been openly critical of Donald Trump since 2016, frequently using American Idiot to denounce him on stage and releasing the 2017 video Troubled Times, which highlighted Trump’s failure to condemn white nationalist violence in Charlottesville. More recently, Armstrong labeled Trump’s administration “a fascist government” during Green Day’s Download Festival set in the U.K., and mocked Vice President J.D. Vance in a reworked lyric of Jesus of Suburbia.
The band’s activism has extended beyond music, with Armstrong posting solidarity messages for protesters opposing ICE raids in Los Angeles. For Green Day, politics have never been separate from their art. The backlash over the “MAGA agenda” lyric underscores a disconnect: while critics demand the band keep politics out of music, Green Day has built its identity on confronting power directly.
