Bruce Springsteen gave his latest stinging criticism of President Trump and his administration, calling them “treasonous” and “incompetent” to kick off the first show of his British tour this week. The president responded in a Truth Social post that included criticism of the rocker’s skin and telling him to “keep his mouth shut” until returning to the U.S.
Springsteen, a long and prominent supporter of Democratic presidential candidates, made his remarks at a concert in Manchester, England, on Wednesday during the first of his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.
“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,” he 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.”
The 75-year-old rocker, who later shared a transcript and video of his remarks on his website and YouTube channel, asked supporters of democracy to “raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”
Throughout the concert, Springsteen accused Mr. Trump and his administration of authoritarianism, rolling back civil rights, blocking free speech and “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,” Springsteen said. “They’re abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.”
On Friday, Mr. Trump responded on his social media platform, saying that the rocker is “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.”
He added: “Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? 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.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
This is not the first time Springsteen has aimed at Mr. Trump and his policies.
When he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election, Springsteen called Mr. Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”
“Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually and emotionally divided as it does than at this moment. It doesn’t have to be this way,” the rock star said in a short video shared on social media.
In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen called Mr. Trump a “moron.” When Mr. Trump was running for reelection in 2020, Springsteen told The Atlantic he didn’t know “if our democracy could stand another four years of his custodianship.”
Later this summer, Springsteen will also release a new album collection that will include dozens of “never-before-heard” songs from previously unreleased records.