Super Bowl 60 halftime performer Bad Bunny has his own history with U.S. president Donald Trump, but before he takes the stage in Santa Clara, another staunch Trump opponent will get the festivities started.
California-based rock band Green Day is set to perform as part of NBC’s opening ceremony for Super Bowl 60, putting on a show close to home before the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks battle for the Lombardi Trophy.
Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong has frequently protested Trump over the years, through both his words and his actions. While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he expects Bad Bunny use his platform at the Super Bowl to “unite people” and “bring people together,” many have wondered whether Green Day will incorporate a protest into its performance.
Here’s a complete timeline of Green Day’s comments about Trump through the years.
Green Day timeline of Donald Trump comments
August 2016: After emerging as a fierce critic of George W. Bush’s administration in the 2000s, Green Day’s lead singer started to direct his ire toward Trump during the lead up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In August of 2016, Armstrong likened Trump to Adolf Hitler in an interview with Kerrang magazine. “[Trump just said, ‘You have no options and I’m the only one, and I’m going to take care of it myself.’ I mean, that’s f—ing Hitler, man,” Armstrong said. “I don’t even know how else to explain it.”
Armstrong said the “worst problem” about Trump was his supporters, accusing the then-candidate of preying on their anger, and he added that he “can’t wait ’til [Trump| is gone.”
November 2016: Armstrong’s wish for Trump to be gone was not granted. 12 days after Trump was elected the 45th president in 2016, Green Day responded by leading a “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” chant at the American Music Awards.
June, 2022: While not a direct attack on Trump, Armstrong said during a performance in the United Kingdom in 2022 that he was renouncing his U.S. citizenship after the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights case Roe vs. Wade. “F— America, I’m f—ing renouncing my citizenship. I’m f—ing coming here. … Miserable excuse for a f—ing country,” Armstrong said on stage.
August, 2017: Days after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which featured white supremacists, Green Day released a music video for song “Troubled Times,” depicting scenes from the rally references to Trump.
In a Facebook post, Armstrong said, “I feel like what happened in Charlottesville goes beyond the point of anger. It makes me sad and desperate. shocked. I f—ing hate racism more than anything.”
Whether Armstrong actually did renounce his citizenship isn’t clear.
December, 2023: Green Day changed a lyric in its 2004 song “American Idiot” as a protest of Trump, first debuting the switch during a New Year’s Eve performance in the final hours of 2023. Armstrong switched the lyrics, “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda,” referencing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
At the time, Trump was in the early stages of a campaign to re-take the presidency. The lyric change has become a regular part of Green Day’s performances, sometimes altered to target other individuals in the Trump administration.
January, 2025: A day before Trump was sworn in as the 47th president, Armstrong again changed a lyric in “American Idiot,” this time to say, “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda,” during a performance in Elon Musk’s home country of South Africa. Musk was an influential part of Trump’s campaign and the buildup to his inauguration, something Armstrong obviously was not a fan of.
March, 2025: Not content with his Trump and Musk-themed lyric changes, Armstrong again made a change during a stop in Australia in March of 2025, this time to a line from “Jesus of Suburbia.” Instead of the usual, “Am I r—d or am I just overjoyed?,” Armstrong sang, ‘Am I r—d or just JD Vance,” targeting the U.S. vice president who had been in office for about two months at the time.
