'Dried out prune'? 'Corrupt' and 'incompetent'? It's getting nasty between Springsteen and Trump

They person immoderate similarities, Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump — guys successful their 70s with homes successful New Jersey and large constituencies among achromatic American men middle-aged and older. And both, successful precise antithetic respects, are the boss.

That's astir wherever it ends.

The seasoned stone star, agelong a governmental hostile of the president, stood up arsenic 1 of Trump's astir salient taste critics past week with a verbal takedown from a British stage.

As is his nature, Trump is warring backmost — hard. He calls Springsteen a “dried retired prune of a rocker” and is adjacent bringing Beyoncé into the fray.

On Monday, the president suggested Springsteen and Beyoncé should beryllium investigated to spot if appearances they made connected behalf of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, past autumn represented an amerciable run donation.

Opening a circuit successful Manchester, England, Springsteen told his audience past Thursday that “the America I love, the America I've written astir that has been a beacon of anticipation and liberty for 250 years is presently successful the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

He added, “Tonight we inquire each who judge successful ideology and the champion of our American experimentation to emergence with us, rise your voices against authoritarianism and fto state ring."

And the backmost and distant began

Springsteen later made reference to an “unfit president and a rogue government” who person “no interest oregon thought for what it means to beryllium profoundly American.”

The adjacent morning, Trump called Springsteen highly overrated. “Never liked him, ne'er liked his euphony oregon his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented feline — conscionable a pushy, obnoxious JERK,” helium wrote connected societal media.

“This dried retired prune of a rocker (his tegument is each atrophied) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until helium gets backmost successful the Country,” helium said.

The adjacent night, besides successful Manchester, Springsteen repeated his criticisms.

“It's nary astonishment what Springsteen's governmental leanings are and person been for galore decades,” said seasoned euphony writer Alan Light, writer of the upcoming “Don't Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.” “He's idiosyncratic who has been outspoken successful his euphony and his actions.”

The Boss' statements this week showed helium wasn't acrophobic to talk retired “at a clip erstwhile truthful galore radical and institutions are conscionable benignant of rolling over,” Light said.

Springsteen isn't caller to this game

It's not the archetypal clip Springsteen has spoken retired against Trump — oregon a Republican president.

When erstwhile President Ronald Reagan referenced Springsteen's “message of hope” astatine a run halt during the tallness of the rocker's “Born successful the USA” popularity, Springsteen wondered if Reagan had listened to his euphony and its references to those near down successful the 1980s economy. He besides has had an occasionally bumpy narration with onetime Republican statesmanlike campaigner and erstwhile New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a instrumentality of his music.

Springsteen has campaigned for Trump's opponents, including Harris past fall. In 2020, helium said that “a bully information of our good country, to my eye, has been thoroughly hypnotized, brainwashed by a con antheral from Queens.”

He knows the outer-borough notation inactive stung a antheral who built his ain operation successful Manhattan and ascended to the presidency. Trump often stays astatine his play nine successful Bedminster, New Jersey. Springsteen grew up successful New Jersey — you whitethorn person heard — and lives successful Colts Neck, New Jersey, now.

Trump doesn't hesitate to spell aft the biggest philharmonic names that talk retired against him, similar Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. But the governmental hazard whitethorn beryllium less; their younger, much pistillate audiences are little apt to intersect with Trump's halfway constituency.

During his career, Springsteen has challenged his assemblage politically beyond statesmanlike endorsements. The 1995 medium “The Ghost of Tom Joad” bluntly documented the lives of struggling immigrants — Mexican and Vietnamese among them. And his 2001 opus “American Skin (41 Shots)," criticized the shooting by New York City constabulary officers of an unarmed Guinean migrant named Amadou Diallo, angering immoderate of the blue-collar segments of his instrumentality base.

Clearly, Springsteen has blimpish fans and immoderate who privation he'd steer wide of politics, Light said. Still, “40 years later, it's hard to ideate what they deliberation would happen” with Trump, helium said.

While Trump made a constituent to notation Springsteen's disapproval successful an overseas show, helium and the E Street Band haven't performed successful the United States since earlier the 2024 election. His circuit past twelvemonth deed heavy connected themes of mortality, little of politics. He has respective European circuit dates scheduled this twelvemonth into July and hasn't announced immoderate caller American shows.

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David Bauder writes astir the intersection of media and amusement for the AP. Follow him astatine http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social

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