Recommendations of the Editorial team
The presidents of two chapters of the American Federation of Musicians have released a statement in support of Bruce Springsteen against US President Donald Trump’s attacks. Springsteen has long criticized Trump and his policies. On Thursday, Trump published a long post on Truth Social, in which, among other things, he described Springsteen as a “bad and deadly boring singer” and called on his MAGA supporters to boycott the artist.
Dan Point is president of AFM Local 802 based in Manhattan, and Marc Sazer leads Local 47 in Los Angeles. Springsteen is a union member of Locals 47 and 399 (in Asbury Park, New Jersey).
“We cannot remain silent while one of our most prominent members is personally attacked by the President of the United States,” Point and Sazer said. “Bruce Springsteen is not just a brilliant musician – he is a voice for working people, a symbol of American resilience and an inspiration to millions in this country and around the world.”
Solidarity with Springsteen
“From ‘Nebraska’ to ‘Born to Run,’ his music has confronted the powerful with truth for decades – and that’s exactly what he’s doing now,” they continued. “Musicians have the right to free speech, and we stand in complete solidarity with Bruce and every member who uses his platform to speak according to his conscience. Local 802 and Local 47 will always defend this right.”
When contacted, a White House spokesperson told ROLLING STONE: “We refer you to the President’s TRUTH.”
Trump published his post two days after the start of the tour, which Springsteen had announced as “political.” At the opening night of the tour in Minnesota, Springsteen appealed to humanity in a pre-concert speech. “The America that I love, the America that I have written about for 50 years, that has served as a beacon of hope and freedom to the world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous government,” he said. “Tonight we ask all of you to join us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over indifference, unity over division and peace over war.”
Springsteen’s political involvement
Springsteen also recently supported a campaign by the American Civil Liberties Union protesting a Trump executive order that would amend the Constitution to eliminate the place-of-birth rule. An ad produced by the ACLU uses Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”
In January, a White House spokesman said they would not comment on Springsteen’s song “Streets of Minneapolis” – a piece that protests the presence of ICE and commemorates two Americans killed by ICE officers in the city. “The Trump administration is not addressing any songs containing irrelevant opinions and false information,” the spokesman said at the time.
When Springsteen announced the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, another White House spokesman released a statement calling Springsteen a “loser” and claiming the artist was suffering from a “severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, which has decomposed his brain.”
Trump’s attacks on Springsteen
In his Truth Social post, Trump attacked Springsteen’s appearance and repeated his spokesman’s accusation of “TDS.” Trump had previously attacked Springsteen and told him to “SHUT UP.”
Springsteen told the Minnesota Star Tribune last month that he wasn’t worried about political headwinds. “My job is very simple: I do what I want to do, I say what I want to say, and then people get to say what they want to say about it. … I don’t worry about losing that part of your audience,” he said. “I’ve always had a sense of the cultural role we play, and I remain deeply committed to that idea of the band. The backlash is just part of it. I’m ready for it all.”
