Bruce Springsteen delivered several scathing speeches criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump as he opened his Land of Hope & Dreams Tour with The E Street Band in Manchester, England.
Springsteen launched his run of shows at the Co-op Live venue on Wednesday, May 14, with statements about the current situation in the U.S.
His comments preceded three of his songs –” Land of Hope and Dreams,” “House of a Thousand Guitars,” and “My City of Ruins.”
Highlights
- Bruce Springsteen called the Trump administration corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous during his 2024 UK tour opening show.
- Springsteen urged fans to unite against authoritarianism, emphasizing the power of people as the last check on power.
- He condemned Trump's policies on immigration, civil rights, university defunding, and ties to Putin on stage.
Springsteen strongly criticized the Trump administration
Image credits: Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images
“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 told the crowd before “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism.”
The speeches were compiled into one video shared on Springsteen’s official YouTube channel.
In his second speech to fans, before he played “House of a Thousand Guitars,” he spoke about the power of the people.
“The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people, you and me,” he said.
Image credits: The White House
“It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.”
His final comments about the current U.S. government came before he launched into “My City of Ruins,” with the speech significantly longer than the rest.
In the speech, he referenced Trump’s crackdown on immigration, civil rights, the defunding of universities such as Harvard, and Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sitting down on stage, Springsteen addressed the indoor arena and said: “There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous s**t 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 that they inflict on loyal American workers.
“They're rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society.
“They're abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.
“They're defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands."
Springsteen has a long history of standing up for ordinary people
Image credits: Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images
“They’re 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.”
The majority of American representatives had failed to protect the American people from the “abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government,” Springsteen added.
The rock legend said there was hope that his country would survive the next few years as he referenced American writer James Baldwin.
“We’ll survive this moment,” Springsteen vowed. “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 been a vocal critic of Trump for years, calling him a “moron” and a “tragedy for our democracy” back in 2016, Politico reports.
In the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Springsteen actively campaigned for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, participating in high-profile rallies alongside former President Barack Obama and other celebrities.
He described Trump as “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime” in a video he shared on social media endorsing Harris.
“His disdain for the sanctity of our Constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of president ever again,” Springsteen said at the time.
He has long been known for his activism, and his music often resonated with America's working class because he stood up for ordinary people and reflected their struggles in his music.
Some of Springsteen’s songs, such as “Factory” and “Born in the U.S.A.,” portrayed the lives of factory workers and veterans.
While he strongly resonated with blue-collar workers in the olden days because of this, some of his fans have since aligned themselves with the MAGA movement.
The shift in political ideology has left some fans feeling that Springsteen no longer represents their struggles, although many still strongly agree with what he has to say.