Bruce Springsteen opened his Land Of Hope And European Tour this evening by speaking out about what he called “a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” under Donald Trump.
“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring,” he said at his concert in Manchester, England.
Later, he said, “The last check on power after the checks and balances have failed, are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values — now that’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism.”
He said that there was “some very weird, strange and dangerous sh– going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction and 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 they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and moral society. They are abandoning our great allies, and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They are 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.”
He went on to say that “a majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.” The crowd cheered.
He added, “They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. 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 a long history of endorsing Democratic nominees for president, and he endorsed Kamala Harris last fall. But he was especially critical of Trump, calling him “the most dangerous candidate of my lifetime.” He went on to perform for her campaign, warning that Trump was “running to be an American tyrant.”