Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
The musician recently railed against the ‘corrupt, incompetent and treasonous’ Trump administration at a gig in Manchester
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Donald Trump has lashed out after Bruce Springsteen branded his administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.”
Springsteen, 75, was performing at Co-op Live in Manchester, England earlier this week when he delivered several monologues railing against the Trump administration, DOGE cuts and ICE deportations.
On his own social media platform Truth Social, the President of the United States, 78, responded: “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 wasn’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!”
During his show in Manchester, Springsteen had announced his song “Land of Hope and Dreams” by saying: “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.
“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!”
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Later in the show, before his song “House of a Thousand Guitars,” Springsteen added: “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 a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.”
And prior to his song “City of Ruin,” Springsteen referenced Elon Musk and DOGE’s decision to cut funds for USAID and ICE deportations when he said: “There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous s*** going on out there right now. 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.
“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.
“They are 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. A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.
“They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. 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.”
Springsteen has consistently and vocally opposed Trump. Before last year’s election, he endorsed Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in