Rock megastar Bruce Springsteen has made a series of critical remarks about US President Donald Trump and the policies of his administration, calling the American leader “unfit” for office.
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen said at the beginning of a concert in Manchester, northern England, on Wednesday.
“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,” he said.
“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism,” added Springsteen.
The rock star spoke out several times during the show, later posting clips of his comments to his Instagram account.
“The last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people — you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values. Now that’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve really got is each other,” he continued.
He later criticized some of the US administration’s most recent policies.
“In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now,” he said.
“In my country, they are taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers, they’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society,” he said.
“They’re abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They’re defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They’re removing residents off American streets, and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now,” added Springsteen.
The singer also criticized US lawmakers for failing to protect the American people from what he called “an unfit president and a rogue government,” and having “no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.”
“The America that I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people, so will survive this moment,” said Springsteen.
The Manchester show was the first on the European leg of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour, which will also take in dates in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Springsteen previously criticized Trump and urged Americans to vote for Kamala Harris at a campaign rally for the Democratic candidate last year.
His criticism of Trump comes after Hollywood star Robert De Niro took aim at the US president at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted,” said De Niro.
“That affects all of us here, because the arts are democratic, art is inclusive and brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth. Art embraces diversity, and that’s why art is a threat,” added De Niro, who is an outspoken critic of the US president.
“That’s why we are a threat to autocrats and fascists,” he added.
De Niro ended his speech with a call for people to stand up to Trump “without violence, but with great passion and determination.”
“It’s time for everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest and when there are elections, of course, to vote. Vote,” the actor added.
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