During a concert held on Friday evening at Pier 29 in San Francisco, Billie Joe Armstrong launched a harsh attack against ICE agents, the federal immigration control agency. From the stage the Green Day frontman addressed the agents, inviting them to “leave that shitty job”. Armstrong's words make even more noise, given that the band will perform this evening during the opening ceremony of Super Bowl LX, which will be held in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium.
Already on Friday evening, Armstrong had given a glimpse of what could happen again tonight, in front of millions of viewers around the world. During the concert, the band had changed the words of the song American Idiotinserting the phrase «I'm not a part of a MAGA agenda», a clear criticism of the president of the United States and his political program Make America Great Again. The singer then addressed the ICE agents directly who, according to rumors, will be present at the Super Bowl. “Quit your shitty job,” Armstrong said from the stage, “when this is over, and it's over, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, JD Vance and Donald Trump will dump you right now. Come to our side.”
This isn't the first time Green Day has taken issue with the Trump administration. In January, during a concert in Los Angeles, Armstrong introduced Holiday saying: «This song is anti-fascist, it is against war. We stand with our brothers and sisters in Minnesota,” siding with the protests against ICE after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. In fact, ICE has come under fire in recent weeks for aggressive operations against illegal immigrants in several American cities.
Green Day, on the other hand, have always openly taken sides against Donald Trump, ever since 2016 when they made the public sing chants such as “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” during their concerts. In 2024 they openly supported Kamala Harris in the presidential elections.
Trump, for his part, had called the decision to have Green Day and Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl “terrible”, adding “it's a choice that sows hatred”. The president had also announced that he will not go to the stadium, unlike last year. On Bad Bunny, who will perform during the interval, he was even harsher: «I've never heard of him. I don't know who he is,” Trump commented, calling the decision to have the Puerto Rican artist perform “ridiculous”. In response to the event, Turning Point USA, a conservative organization close to the MAGA movement, has organized an alternative 'All American Halftime Show' with Kid Rock that will air at the same time, for those who want to boycott the official show.
Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will begin this evening at 6.30pm local time (00.30am in Italy).
