In Donald Trump’s world, he’s the boss—and doesn’t plan on taking orders from another by the name of Bruce Springsteen. After Springsteen criticized the current president while opening his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour in Manchester, England, Trump fired back, calling the musician a “pushy, obnoxious JERK” on Truth Social.
On Wednesday, 75-year-old Springsteen ridiculed Trump in several separate comments before playing his songs “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “House of a Thousand Guitars,” and “My City of Ruins.” Later, the musician posted a transcript of his remarks on his website and a video of them on his YouTube channel. “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. “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.”
Before a cheering crowd, Springsteen went on to accuse the Trump administration of “taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers.” He added, “They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society. 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.”
By Friday, 78-year-old Trump had caught wind of Springsteen’s speeches and responded with some harsh words of his own. “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, where he also took another shot at Taylor Swift, writing that she was “no longer hot.” (Vanity Fair has reached out to Swift for comment.)
As for Springsteen, “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy,” Trump continued. “Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.”
Trump also seemed to take issue with the fact that Springsteen made his criticism outside of the United States—and did so while wrinkled. “This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare,’” Trump continued. “Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!” (VF has reached out to Springsteen for comment.)
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Others in the conservative sphere have criticized Springsteen for speaking out against Trump in another country, including Fox News’ Greg Gutfield and fellow musician Kid Rock, who called it a “punk move.” But the Born in the U.S.A. singer has frequently trolled Trump in all parts of the world, previously calling the president a “moron” and declaring his 2016 campaign a “tragedy for our democracy.”
Springsteen has long endorsed democratic presidential candidates. He cut an ad for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, also performing at a rally for her in the battleground state of Georgia. When Biden was elected in 2020, he delivered his victory speech after walking out to Springsteen’s song “We Take Care of Our Own.”
During his recent concert, Springsteen said that Trump’s agenda would not triumph. “The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with great people,” he said. “So we’ll survive this moment.” Springsteen will be back onstage in Manchester on Saturday, May 17.
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