Eddie Vedder has appeared to trash Donald Trump over the president’s feud with Bruce Springsteen.
The Pearl Jam frontman made a series of comments about the need to defend free speech and speak up about issues, calling Springsteen “a true American,” and referencing the rocker’s clashes with Trump during a tour appearance.
Why It Matters
The president and Springsteen have since last week escalated tensions in a series of back and forth jibes. It started when the rocker denounced the administration in the opening remarks of his tour in Manchester, England, on Wednesday night.
He said Trump was “an unfit president” who was in charge of “a rogue government” that was “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.”
This resulted in the president calling Springsteen “a pushy, obnoxious JERK” and a “dried-out ‘prune’ of a rocker” on his social media platform, Truth Social, in response. Then, during another tour appearance, Springsteen criticized the Trump administration again.
What To Know
Now, Vedder has weighed in on the drama during the final night of Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour on Sunday.
“He brought up issues,” he said, summarizing the criticisms Springsteen had made about the Trump administration.
“The response had nothing to do with the issues,” he said, not referencing Trump by name but appearing to refer to Trump’s response to Springsteen.
“All that we heard were personal attacks and threats,” he said.
“Part of free speech is open discussion, part of democracy is healthy public discourse. The name calling is so beneath us. Bruce has always been a true American with his values of freedom and liberty and his justice has always remained in tact,” he said.
“This freedom to speak will still exist in another year or two when we come back to this microphone.”
Here’s Eddie Vedder in Pittsburgh last night, responding to the Trump administration’s reaction to Bruce Springsteen’s recent comments. pic.twitter.com/QoIZTbQJ7w
— Ian Shantz (@IanShantz) May 19, 2025
Previously, he honored Springsteen by covering his ballad “My City of Ruins” during a Friday gig.
What People Are Saying
Bruce Springsteen, speaking at his concert: “In my country they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.”
Republican California governor candidate Steve Hilton wrote on X: “I may not have been ‘born in the USA’ like Bruce Springsteen, but I moved here and became an American by choice. So I’m disgusted to see him running around England criticizing our country. Maybe he should stay there!”
What Happens Next
Meanwhile, Trump has called for a “major investigation” into celebrities who aided Kamala Harris‘ 2024 election campaign, including Springsteen, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Bono, claiming campaign performances were akin to potentially illegal contributions.
He has also slammed Taylor Swift, declaring she is “no longer hot.”
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