The war of words between Hall of Fame rocker and Democrat campaigner Bruce Springsteen and President Donald Trump carried on into the weekend with the Boss again attacking Trump in remarks during his second concert of a three night stand in Manchester, England, Saturday night.
Bruce Springsteen in concert at Manchester, England, screen image via Instagram, May 14, 2025.
Springsteen’s anti-Trump speeches were read from a teleprompter and largely matched his speeches at Wednesday’s show that kicked off a several month European tour with the E Street Band that made global headlines and received a scathing response from Trump on Truth Social that concluded with the President calling on Springsteen to “keep his mouth shut” until he returned to the U.S.
Springsteen, who has campaigned for every Democrat presidential nominee from Kerry to Kamala, did not keep his mouth shut, which is his right even if many Americans dislike celebrities going overseas and trashing the President and the U.S.A. regardless of party. (This second UK show was attended by a senior Obama/Hillary operative, details at the end of this article.)
Springsteen – Saturday May 17th 2025. Manchester, England.
Still The Boss.
Another rant from the dic(k)gator in chief in 3…2…..#springsteen #theboss #trump pic.twitter.com/deko8Vwczy
— Mr B. (@N_A_Brownhill) May 17, 2025
View from the far side of the Co-Op Live arena:
Tonight in Manchester Bruce Springsteen said it as it is. pic.twitter.com/oMmyY4GpKy
— Séamus.1798 (@1057Seamus) May 17, 2025
The Wall Street Journal reported on the White House’s response Saturday inviting Springsteen to stay out of the country after his latest outburst (excerpt):
MANCHESTER, U.K.—President Trump warned Bruce Springsteen to “keep his mouth shut” until he gets back to the U.S. The rock icon is showing no signs of backing down, delivering a fiery performance from a stage in this city Saturday that reflected the stark political divide in America.
Springsteen echoed earlier criticism of the Trump administration Saturday, saying a “rogue” government was rolling over U.S. lawmakers and institutions designed to keep authoritarianism in check.
“Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy,” Springsteen told the audience. To drive the point home, he dedicated one of his songs to our “Dear Leader,” an allusion to the honorific set aside for former North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il.
…“The 77 million Americans that elected President Trump disagree with elitist and out-of-touch celebrities like Bruce Springsteen,” said Taylor Rogers, the White House assistant press secretary. “Bruce is welcome to stay overseas while hardworking Americans enjoy a secure border and cooling inflation thanks to President Trump.”
Trump posted Friday on Truth Social in response to Springsteen’s first attack at Wednesday’s show in Manchester, England:
I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. 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, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is “dumb as a rock,” and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out “prune” of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just “standard fare.” Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!
Transcript of Springsteen’s speeches from Wednesday’s show:
Introduction to Land of Hope and Dreams
Good Evening!
It’s great to be in Manchester and back in the U.K. Welcome to the Land of Hope & Dreams Tour! 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.
In my home, 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.
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!
Introduction to House of a Thousand Guitars
The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government 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 a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.
Introduction to My City of Ruins
There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.
In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in 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 has led to a more just and plural 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.
A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. 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 is scheduled to tour Europe from now until early July, with shows set for (in order) France, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Germany and ending with shows in Italy–with the finale taking place on July 3rd where Bruce will surely spout off about Trump on the eve of America’s 249th Independence Day. The tour is scheduled at a leisurely pace for the 75-year-old Springsteen with shows every three or four days.
There are no announced plans for U.S. shows, even though Springsteen traditionally does a late summer stadium tour of the States after touring Europe.
Springsteen’s previous tour, which wrapped up last year, largely avoided politics with a focus on mortality and vitality. This year’s tour in Europe was necessitated by having to make up several canceled shows from last year’s European leg of the tour.
The attendance of Jennifer Palmieri at Springsteen’s show at Manchester Saturday could be a sign of political coordination between former President Barack Obama’s team and Springsteen. Springsteen is close friends with Obama, and Palmieri served as Obama’s Director of White House Communications in his second term before moving to the same position for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign that she lost to Trump.
“Will have a lot more to say about tonight’s @springsteen show. For now, I leave you with the one word to describe The Boss’s Manchester performance: DEFIANT.”
Will have a lot more to say about tonight’s @springsteen show. For now, I leave you with the one word to describe The Boss’s Manchester performance: DEFIANT. pic.twitter.com/SocY3HTFFu
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) May 17, 2025
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