Pod Save America
Pod Save America

Is Trump Afraid of Bad Bunny? (feat. Pablo Torre)

February 8, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: Solo-hosted interview with deep dives, video clips, and banter on a Super Bowl Sunday special.
  • The Key Players:
    • Host: Tommy Vietor, Pod Save America host and former Obama aide, blending politics, sports fandom (Patriots diehard), and sharp Trump critique.
    • Guest: Pablo Torre, investigative sports journalist and host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, known for muckraking frauds alongside quirky tales (e.g., Sir Mix-a-Lot).
  • The Vibe: Fun, irreverent, and fiercely educational—mixing biting humor, "stolen valor" sports roasts, and serious exposĂ©s on propaganda and scams.

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

The episode skewers Trump's sports propaganda machine, from fake fandom to profiteering, blending laughs with warnings on cultural/political manipulation.

  • Topic 1: Trump's Sham Sports Fandom & League Ties—Hosts roast Trump and JD Vance's clueless sports talk (e.g., botched names, betting lines); unpack his NFL thirst (failed Bills bid), UFC walkouts with Dana White, and FIFA ass-kissing for PR gold.
  • Topic 2: Sports Gambling Explosion—Post-2018 SCOTUS ruling, apps turned betting into addictive "Cheesecake Factory menus" of props; Trump fam profits via event contracts on Polymarket/Calachi, enabling insider scams and eroding trust.
  • Topic 3: Trans Athletes as GOP Wedge—Riley Gaines' ev

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Pablo Torre**
  • 2 (05:22) **Does Trump Know Sports?**
  • 3 (11:03) **Trump's NFL Relationship and Ownership Dreams**
  • 4 (13:42) **Why Trump Skipped Super Bowl LVIII**
  • 5 (16:42) **NFL's Business Over Politics**
  • 6 (21:36) **Colin Kaepernick's Anthem Protests**
  • 7 (24:27) **Trump's UFC Alliance with Dana White**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Does Trump know ball? Is he afraid of Bad Bunny—or did MAGA just fumble the halftime show? This Super Bowl Sunday, Tommy sits down with journalist and sportswriter Pablo Torre to unpack how America’s once-sacred sports institutions have been overtaken by politics. The two dig into Trump’s long and messy relationship with the NFL, MAGA’s Bad Bunny boycott, and the rise of online sports gambling and prediction markets.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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