It is no secret that Bruce Springsteen’s politics align with this site’s readers. Indeed, the Boss himself shot a famous video on behalf of the Harris campaign just last fall. But Bruce’s political values are so deeply threaded through his sweet soul that his priorities go beyond candidates and policy right into the root of it all as seen in his early advocacy for Vietnam Vets, AIDS victims, or more recent support for all things LGBTQ+, and on and on – he will withdraw concerts from states that don’t meet his otherwise reasonable standards and of late he’s been more than ready to go after pols personally, especially Trump. So it’s not a shock that he and Trump hate each other. Still, you would think that Trump is now used to being criticized, such that he might give Bruce a pass. But that’s not the point. Trump hates criticism from people he might secretly respect. For this reason, Trump seems to be threatening – definitely reacting, to Bruce across the Atlantic on tour in Manchester, U.K.
If Trump didn’t respect Bruce, it’s far less likely that he’d care. Additionally, Trump knows that there are only a handful of people in the country who do still have some crossover appeal to all voters. Springsteen might well be one.
This all started with the typical American freedom of speech criticism of the White House. It could be any year and any band – perhaps some country stars hated Biden, I wouldn’t know. Either way, it’d be fine for them to criticize any Democrat. It is not fine, however, for anyone, never mind an icon, to criticize Trump. From the Manchester Evening News:
After saying the E Street band were about to ‘call upon the righteous power of music, art and rock and roll in dangerous times’, he told the crowd:
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.
And Bruce wasn’t done:
“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit, to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism, and let freedom reign.”
“There’s some very weird strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now in America,” he says, before launching into a string of attacks on the Trump administration, including ‘inflicting pain on loyal workers… abandoning our allies and siding with dictators… removing residents off American streets and without due process or law deporting them.”
“A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”
He then described the people in this “rogue government” and did so by essentially calling the Trump administration un-American:
“They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America i’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people.
He finished on an up note, if one can call it that:
“So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said, he said ‘in this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.”
Well, up with that, Trump wouldn’t put. And the blowback came today as he seemed to threaten Springsteen’s return to the United States, as reported by The Mercury Morning News:
In fact, Trump invoked Springsteen’s location in the U.K. in his warning to the singer that he should “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the country.” It certainly sounded as though the commander in chief was threatening the internationally renowned recording artist some kind of consequence for calling his administration “corrupt” and “treasonous” — and doing so while abroad.
Trump also mysteriously and menacingly said, “That’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll see how it goes for him!”
For a man whose administration is investigating James Comey for photographing seashells as a call to violence, the “then we’ll see how it goes for him” is pretty damned menacing and very much a threat to address this when Bruce returns. Trump wasn’t done:
On Truth Social, Trump zeroed in on Springsteen’s support for Biden. He said that Springsteen, a “pushy, obnoxious jerk,” was too “dumb” to see that Biden was “a mentally incompetent FOOL” and “our WORST EVER president ever who came close to destroying our country.”
And, were all that not enough, Trump decided to cross out at least two of Jason’s top 10 favorite people in also going after Taylor Swift today. Yes, I’m a Swiftie. I’m a girldad and I am going to love any girl (Woman) who makes billions more than boys doing the same work, only because she’s better than them and more politically powerful… Anyway, if you didn’t like Swift before, now that Trump declares her to be “not hot,” perhaps you can find a place in your heart?
He was “on the warpath,” TMZ said. He also posted a message that said that Taylor Swift is “no longer HOT.” Trump wanted to take credit for Swift’s declining “hotness” for declaring “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” after she endorsed former Kamala Harris for president.
We need Swift and Springsteen in a duet. Regardless, as I said, Trump is particularly bothered by people who have a few things in common. One – they’re rich, obviously. But two, people who have a lot of soft power and pull through their persona – enough to turn people off Trump himself, and three – this is the type that Trump respects.
So Swift and Springsteen are kindred spirits. YouTube has nothing with the two of them so far – It is coming, I’m sure, some day soon, they occupy the same orbit. And so I have to leave you with a Bruce offering on the way out. How about Bruce and a young fan playing together at a show Growing Up?
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Typical Springsteen: Get it out there. Manchester struck a chord because it was Manchester, England. Now, there are 30 or so Manchesters in US…. He can’t/won’t play them all but let this words resonate from where he does play. More, let others pick up and broadcast the message further, louder and higher
As for the video? Again, typical of Springsteen but one wonders at the skill and aplomb of the lad and where he will go on to from here.
I suspect The Boss (no, Donald, you’re not The Boss) would say “Bring it on, asshole” to Trumpler and his corrupt DOJ, were they to try to stifle him in any way. One thing Trump’s junta can’t do is grab Springsteen off a street and disappear him, as they did with Garcia. Bruce has money and clout to go with his fame, and real lawyers (as opposed to Trump’s ambulance chasers) would be lining up to extricate him from any trouble. I look forward to whatever form this feud may take …