Rock star Bruce Springsteen opened his latest tour in Manchester, England, by excoriating the Trump White House.
Before his song “Land of Hope and Dreams,” which is also the name of the European tour, Mr. Springsteen said 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. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”
Mr. Trump responded on Truth Social, writing Friday, “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK.”
Mr. Trump added that Mr. Springsteen is a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!)” who “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!”
In addition to his first broadside against the president, Mr. Springsteen called on people to act as a check and balance on the government. He then played “House of a Thousand Guitars.”
Before playing “My City of Ruins,” the rocker scolded the administration for cracking down on free speech, rolling back civil rights laws, defunding universities over political disagreements, and removing U.S. residents from streets without due process and sending them to foreign prisons.
Mr. Springsteen, 75, is an avowed liberal. He previously co-hosted a podcast series with former President Barack Obama, and in the 2024 election he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mr. Springsteen will play the same Manchester venue on Saturday and Tuesday, followed by dates in France, back to England, Berlin, Prague, Frankfurt, Spain, back to Germany and Milan, Italy.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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