EXCLUSIVE: How Bruce Springsteen V Donald Trump Feud Stretches Back Years — And is Rooted in Rocker's Stubborn Political Stance
Bruce Springsteen's rift with Donald Trump stretches back decades and is born from his left-wing political beliefs.
May 21 2025, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
Bruce Springsteen's feud with Donald Trump has been brewing for decades, amid the pair's recent war of words.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the singer's outbursts stem from his political leanings, spanning over several decades, which have included barbs at not only the President, but other former Republican leaders.
Springsteen's Trump Bashing
Springsteen reignited his feud with Trump while on tour in the U.K.
When former President Ronald Reagan referenced Springsteen's "message of hope" at a campaign stop during the height of the rocker's Born in the USA popularity, Springsteen, 75, wondered if Reagan had listened to his music and its references to those left behind in the 1980s economy.
He also has had an occasionally bumpy relationship with onetime Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a fan of his music.
Support For Trump's Rivals
Springsteen was given an honor by Trump rival Joe Biden and he's also publicly backed Kamala Harris.
Springsteen campaigned for Trump's opponents in recent years, including Kamala Harris, ahead of the last election.
In 2020, he said that "a good portion of our fine country, to my eye, has been thoroughly hypnotized, brainwashed by a con man from Queens."
During his career, Springsteen has challenged his audience politically beyond presidential endorsements.
The 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad bluntly documented the lives of struggling immigrants, Mexican and Vietnamese among them. And his 2001 song American Skin (41 Shots), criticized the shooting by New York City police officers of an unarmed Guinean immigrant named Amadou Diallo, angering some of the blue-collar segments of his fan base.
Since Trump returned to power, Springsteen has not performed a concert with the E Street Band in the U.S.
Such is his disdain for Trump, Springsteen and the E Street Band haven't performed in the United States since before the 2024 election.
His tour last year hit heavily on themes of mortality, less of politics. He has several European tour dates scheduled this year into July and hasn't announced any new American shows.
Latest Outburst On Stage in England
Springsteen hit out at Trump on stage in Manchester, branding the president 'corrupt.'
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It was during one of those shows, in Manchester, England, last Thursday in which he reignited his war of words with Trump — sparking the president’s spicy reaction.
He told his audience: "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."
Springsteen 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."
Trump called Springsteen 'overrated' and a 'dried out prune of a rocker.'
Springsteen later referred to an "unfit president and a rogue government" who have "no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American."
The next morning, Trump called Springsteen "highly overrated," adding: “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,” he wrote on social media.
"This dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back in the Country."
The next night, also in Manchester, an unperturbed Springsteen repeated his criticisms.
