Most of us, beyond the age of 40, have friends who have attended several Bruce Springsteen concerts. My wife has attended 15. I have a friend who claims to have attended 20. There is something about “The Boss” that has made him the most popular and revered rock star of our times.
Last Friday, I was perusing Truth Social and learned that the President of the Free World, the Chairman of the Kennedy Center, disagrees. More about that in a bit. First, what did Springsteen say to earn the President’s wrath?
Last week, Bruce gave a concert in London, the first on his European tour. Introducing his song, Land of Hopes and Dreams, Bruce commented, “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 added, “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.”
Later in the concert, Springsteen commented: “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 got is each other.”
Bruce also, in introducing his song, My City of Ruins, told the audience: “In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now… in America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.”
If you are not familiar with Bruce Springsteen, you are missing a lot. He deserves a statue in Trump’s planned “Garden of American Heroes.” I imagine The Boss’ Born in the USA playing at 90 decibels at the opening of the Garden. I can see Springsteen shaking the hand of a future President and maybe even singing a song in the Garden.
Our President doesn’t share my appreciation for The Boss, maybe because the President believes there can be only one boss in America. Maybe it is because Springsteen has captured the soul of America so well in his catalog of songs. And maybe because Springsteen is far, far more popular than Trump. (So is Taylor Swift.)
Apparently, Karoline Leavitt, the uber-loyal White House press secretary, read about Springsteen’s comments and reported them to Trump. Or maybe the woman known in the White House as the Human Printer, Natalie Harp, printed out an article reporting Bruce’s comments and gave him a copy. In any case, once Trump heard what was said about him, he exploded in a most un-presidential way.
Trump posted this attack on Springsteen on Truth Social:
“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, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. If I weren’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but 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!”
Trump is outraged that someone would speak ill of the President of the United States. Didn’t Trump, his two older boys, and his closest aides do that for the entirety of the 2024 presidential election? Apparently, what is good for the Goose is not good for the Gander.
And apparently, Trump is no champion of the first amendment, at least as Bruce Springsteen practices it.
The President also does not envy Springsteen’s “atrophied” skin.
And, of course, Trump closes his social media post with a threat. Is Trump hinting that he might seek some form of retribution against Springsteen? (If you can threaten former FBI director Jim Comey for publishing a photo of seashells forming the number, “8647” because he believes the image may incite someone to attempt to assassinate him, anything is possible.)
Towards the end of his concert, Springsteen assured the audience that, “We’ll survive this moment.” He added, “Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.”
Bruce, I’m praying for you and the United States. If given the choice of The Boss and Donald J. Trump being president, I vote for Bruce.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.
