Bruce Springsteen provokes Trump with new live album

"Manchester, are you ready for round three?" Bruce Springsteen asked his audience on Tuesday evening. And the opening song was another broadside from Bruce Springsteen against US President Donald Trump. "We made a promise and swore to always remember it – no retreat, no surrender" – as the chorus of "No Surrender," Springsteen's uptempo anthem about the power of friendship, thundered through the arena on that third and final E Street Band evening in Manchester, it was understood by the tens of thousands in attendance as part of Springsteen's "Mission: Democracy." A mission that the musician would crown with a surprise the following day.

But first, the bandleader once again aligned the setlist of the "Land of Hope and Dreams" tour with the political situation in the USA. For the third time, he spoke of his country going through "dangerous times," of more than 200 years of American freedom being at stake because of Trump and his political entourage. "When the conditions are right for a demagogue, you can be sure he will emerge" - this sentence was new. Since Trump was sworn in as the 47th US President in January 2024, no words had been heard from American artists as succinct and forceful as the Springsteens.

It was a given, and likely intended, that Trump would react if someone in Europe spoke of a "corrupt, incompetent, and treacherous" government "in power" in the US. Statements like "In America, they persecute people for exercising their right to free speech and expressing their disagreement. This is happening right now" did not go unchallenged. Trump called Springsteen an "intolerable idiot" on his Truth Social platform. And he threatened, as despots have always threatened against voices they dislike: When he comes home, "we'll all see how he fares." Springsteen didn't yet know what he had planned for Thursday of this week.

In return, the musician was able to learn about Trump's plans from England. He called on his administration to launch a "comprehensive investigation" into Springsteen. The liberal music magazine "Rolling Stone" reported in its online edition that the Potus was planning a major "revenge campaign against celebrities." The Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission should punish "illegal" violations of campaign finance law.

"How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her presidential campaign?" Trump wrote on his social media site. "Why did he accept the money if he's such a big fan of hers? Isn't that substantial and illegal election financing? What about Beyoncé? ... And how much went to Oprah and Bono???" All in capital letters of presidential outrage.

The accusation: The Democratic Party's presidential candidate paid fees to the "unpatriotic entertainers" who performed at her rallies. Rolling Stone sees this as a new distortion of the truth by Trump. Harris merely made payments to the stars' production companies.

In the US, campaign finance laws require election campaigns to pay their service providers fair market value. If the stars' companies had remained unpaid, those involved would have been liable for criminal offenses. Direct donations from companies to candidates are prohibited by law, and any waiver of production costs would have exceeded the donation limit.

Springsteen had to step forward – and certainly doesn't want to go back. The elation of Trump's followers on social media would be at least as aggressive as what was read there after the debut of his diatribe against Trump's world: He makes bad music, he's made himself super-rich with his songs about the people at the bottom, he's no patriot, everything possible should be done to him, but it would be best if he stayed in Europe. Had Springsteen remained silent during the second round in Manchester, it would have been considered capitulation. Protest knows no pause. And thrives on surprises.

Springsteen had and still has a special position in American pop culture – even though his guitarist Steven van Zandt announced in Playboy that the number of fans in the USA had halved since the MAGA era. The 75-year-old musician is considered America's rock 'n' roll chronicler and has been the epitome of the honest blue-collar rocker since the 1970s. You'd love to have a beer with the Boss; his superstar status since "Born in the USA" (1984) hasn't changed that. His liberal attitude has been known since his early days and, along with his catchy music, profound lyrics and thrilling concerts lasting up to four hours, was one of the reasons why his fan base loved and loves him.

For decades, the boss has been supporting Democratic presidential candidates, and even during the Reagan years, stickers bearing the words "Springsteen for President" were seen on American trunks and bumpers. To this day, you can buy a T-shirt with that slogan for just under €25. And a commentary in the online edition of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" cheekily asked: "Why not someday have Springsteen for president and Little Steven (guitarist of the E Street Band) as vice president?"

The current incumbent knows this. And he dislikes competition as much as he dislikes critics. This isn't the first time the relationship between pop star and US president has spiraled into irrationality. In 1972, Richard Nixon believed that allowing Briton John Lennon to remain in the US could jeopardize his re-election. The Republican won, but on July 18, 1974, the former Beatle and peace advocate received an official order to leave America by September 10, or face deportation.

History was on Beatle John's side: On August 9, Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal, and his more sober successor, Gerald Ford, dropped the issue. In 1976, Lennon received his green card; the year before, New York Supreme Court Justice Irving Kaufman had said: "Lennon's four-year struggle to remain in our country is a testament to his belief in the American Dream."

The difference: While Nixon was no stranger to the idea that as Potus he was above the law, he didn't see himself as a pop star. No media outlet compared his performances to "shows" at the time, and no supporter called him a "savior." Former TV host Trump, on the other hand, seems to see himself at the pinnacle of US entertainment, as if he wanted to sing his own "Born in the USA," with his own lyrics. It's hard to explain otherwise why someone in what feels like the highest office in the world would post the following: "Has anyone noticed she's not 'hot' anymore since I said, 'I hate Taylor Swift'?"

Just a few days after posting a picture of himself in papal robes, Trump posted a video of himself posing as a rock guitarist, piano player, and drummer. A one-man band. The comments from the Magas were enthusiastic. Critics considered it a compensatory measure – Trump's 2024 campaign lacked global stars: only Kid Rock, the Village People, Jason Aldean, and Billy Ray Cyrus remained.

Criticism from US pop culture has so far mostly been directed only indirectly against those in power. Rather, criticism has focused on political policies and decisions, as well as their consequences—social injustices or America's wars since Vietnam. Musicians have championed the civil rights movement and denounced all forms of discrimination. Here, the focus is specifically on the people in power—the president, his ministers, the South African tech billionaire Elon Musk, and the silent opposition.

Springsteen, however, is no longer the only one who refuses to accept that America is becoming a foreign country. On May 13, Hollywood icon Robert De Niro (81) called Trump a "philistine" at the Palme d'Or for Lifetime Achievement in Cannes, sending the biting line, "In my country, we are fighting with all our might for the democracy we once took for granted." A few days later, his colleague Pedro Pascal responded to Trump's threatening post. "Screw the people who want to scare you," the Chilean-American actor shouted on the Croisette. "And fight back! Don't let them win!"

"I'm not afraid of you," Neil Young was recently quoted as saying in Rolling Stone. "And neither are the rest of us." The Canadian music legend with US citizenship (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) now sided with Springsteen. "Bruce and thousands of musicians think you're ruining America. And you'd rather take care of that (the musicians) than the dying children of Gaza."

The 79-year-old, who will be giving concerts in Germany in June and July, also likes to speak plainly: "Wake up, Republicans! This guy is out of control! We need a real president!"

And Springsteen's coup? For years, he's had all his concerts recorded. Fans order and have "his evening" forever on their CD shelf. On Wednesday, shortly before 4 p.m., it was announced that the "Boss" had released a live EP from his first Manchester evening. It included his fiery speech against Trump and Maga. His commitment to US democracy has thus become a contemporary document, now part of his discography. The chronicler Springsteen has done his duty and given the Trumperism the finger.