Donald Trump has angrily insulted Bruce Springsteen after the veteran musician said Mr Trump was heading a “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration”.
Springsteen made a series of vehement speeches on stage in Manchester, England, as he kicked off his latest tour, arguing that Mr Trump was “an unfit president” heading up “a rogue government”. He said that in the US, “the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death … they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers … They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.”
Mr Trump responded on his Truth Social platform, calling Springsteen “highly overrated … not a talented guy – just a pushy, obnoxious JERK”.
Springsteen campaigned on behalf of Joe Biden, just as he did with Barack Obama and later Kamala Harris. Mr Trump said: “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!”
An hour earlier, and apropos of seemingly nothing, Mr Trump took aim at another musician, Taylor Swift.
“Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’” he wrote on Truth Social.
Mr Trump was once a fan of Swift, telling her “you are fantastic!” and posting “Taylor is terrific!” on X in 2012, and later calling her “unusually beautiful”. But after Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, he wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on Truth Social.
Springsteen and Swift have not responded to the posts.
The American Federation of Musicians international president Tino Gagliardi said in a statement: “The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada will not remain silent as two of our members – Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift – are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States.
“Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift are not just brilliant musicians, they are role models and inspirations to millions of people in the United States and across the world. Whether it’s Born in the USA or the Eras Tour, their music is timeless, impactful, and has deep cultural meaning. Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members.”
Springsteen’s tour continues at Co-Op Live in Manchester. A five-star Guardian review of the opening night said: “The choice to finish on a fiery yet emotional version of Bob Dylan’s Chimes of Freedom hits home a clear message tonight. And despite the hurt and despair that underpins much of it, there are few artists able to pluck hope from the darkest depths of the US, with such elegance and beauty, quite like Bruce Springsteen.”
Swift, meanwhile, is keeping a relatively low public profile after a tremendously successful couple of years in which her career-spanning Eras tour became the highest-grossing tour of all time. Fans are looking forward to the rerelease of Reputation, the final part of her project to rerecord earlier studio albums, but no release date has been announced. – The Guardian
