Recommendations of the Editorial team
In 2026, Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band will also be fighting against Donald Trump, the US President, whom he calls a “would-be king”.
“We live in dark, disturbing and dangerous times, but do not despair — the cavalry is coming!” said Springsteen to announce his US tour, which begins at the end of March. “Everyone, regardless of where they stand or what they believe in, is welcome. So come out and join the United Free Republic of E Street Nation for an American Spring of Rock’n’Rebellion! See you there!”
The US tour begins in Minneapolis and ends in Washington DC. He will definitely play the protest song “Streets Of Minneapolis” and he will have Tom Morello with him to support him. A White House spokesman promptly called Springsteen a “loser” whose brain was “eaten away.” But who is the winner here?
One behaves like a president, the other bullies
We remember: Springsteen was already traveling in Europe in 2025. A little review.
One believes in his “land of hope and dreams”, the other only looks at his own advantages and perhaps those of his rich friends (only in the male form, because women play a subordinate role in these circles). One speaks with a statesmanlike voice and tries to build a future worth living for all people. The other person relies on revenge and selfishness, and he doesn’t care as much about the environment as he does about the well-being of the poorer people.
A few years ago, these sentences would have made it clear who was the rock star and who was the statesman (even if the noble goals expressed were rarely implemented). Today we have Bruce Springsteen behaving like an exemplary US President. And Donald Trump, who bullies around like a naughty C-list celebrity. Upside down world. This became clearer than ever at the E Street Band concerts in 2025. The fiery speech for democracy that Springsteen gave could not leave even the harshest cynics unmoved. Some things cannot be translated nicely enough into German: “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock’n’roll in dangerous times.” He has been writing for 50 years about the America he loves, “a beacon of hope and freedom for 250 years,” which is now “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous government.”
Springsteen continues to believe in humanity
Springsteen listed all sorts of things that were wrong – always adding “This is happening now” to make the urgency clear. Now is the time to defend yourself against authoritarianism! Freedom of expression is being undermined, the rich are simply letting the poorest people in the world die, hard-working people are being tortured, and civil rights are being undermined. Instead of working with allied democracies, people prefer to make common cause with dictators, universities are put under pressure, and migrants are illegally deported. And then Springsteen expanded his criticism. It’s not just Trump: “The majority of our elected officials have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an incompetent president and an unscrupulous administration. They have no interest in or understanding of what it means to be deeply American.”
Despite everything, America is still a great country with great people – and that’s why they will get through this time. Finally, as if to prove that he reads books differently than Trump, he quoted James Baldwin: “In this world there is not as much humanity as you would like, but there is enough.” At the end he asked the audience to pray.
And the politician’s reaction? He insulted Bruce on his platform Truth Social: He was “dumb as a rock” and a “dried-out prune of a rocker” with “shriveled” skin. You had to laugh – of all people, the orange clown (79) describes the super-fit musician (76) as a dried-up plum who should keep his mouth shut. And then Trump even threatened Springsteen with the suggestion that he should come back to the country – “then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Things are going well for Bruce Springsteen at the moment, he can afford enough security. And he knows that more and more people are behind him, and the anti-Trump demonstrations are increasing. Maybe the land of hope and dreams still has a chance.
(The text originally appeared in ROLLING STONE 01/2026.)
