In his latest effort to distinguish himself as an insult-slinging music critic, President Donald Trump laid into Bruce Springsteen in an early-morning social media post, calling the rock legend “highly overrated,” “not a talented guy,” “a pushy, obnoxious jerk” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” among other epithets.
This came right on the heels of Trump similarly taking an early a.m. shot at Taylor Swift. These two broadsides against leading entertainers led the president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) to denounce the president’s attacks, saying the union “will not remain silent as two of our members – Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift – are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States.”
“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “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.” Trump continued with his detour away from Springsteen commentary into Biden criticism, writing, “If I wasn’t elected, it (the United States) would have been GONE by now!”
The president continued, “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!”
In response to Trump taking on Springsteen and Swift, the president of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, Tino Gagliardi, issued a statement, saying: “The American Federation of Musicians will not remain silent as two of our members – Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift – are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States. Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift are not just brilliant musicians, they are role models and inspirations to millions of people in the United States and across the world. Whether it’s Born in the USA or the Eras Tour, their music is timeless, impactful, and has deep cultural meaning. Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members.”
Trump’s latest attack on Swift was much shorter than his statement about Springsteen. “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’” he wrote on Friday. The short post offered no indication of why he imagines Swift’s popularity has waned. The singer wrapped up the highest grossing tour in history in December, having brought in a reported $2 billion in grosses.
Among the many things long since normalized by Trump is the idea that it’s normal for presidents to issue broadsides against popular entertainers in the middle of the night. While Swift has been taking time out of the limelight since wrapping up the Eras Tour and had not said or done anything to inspire the president’s latest wrath against her, Trump was reacting in Springsteen’s case to the singer having spoken up against him in a concert in England earlier this week.
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Trump was angered by reading reports that Springsteen, without referring to the president by name, had criticized the administration in a Manchester concert Wednesday night. There, the rocker said, “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, and 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 experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.” Springsteen’s message came as an introduction to a performance of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
As has been pointed out, Trump’s taste in music is not always consistent, or shared by all members of his family. The president had previously featured the “highly overrated” and “not talented” Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” in his rallies. Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, had attended Swift’s Eras Tour even after her father issued his “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” statement.
As followers of politics and music wondered what had prompted Trump to go after Swift, a story in Mediate provided a possible answer: she just happened to get a random mention in Fox News. “It appeared as though the post was a result of him watching his favorite network,” the political website noted. “That morning, both ‘Fox & Friends’ and ‘America’s Newsroom’ briefly touched on a recent story concerning Swift. The day before, a human leg was found a short distance from her home in the Watch Hill neighborhood of Westerly, Rhode Island. It’s reasonable to assume that Trump saw the segments and decided to remind everyone of his disdain for the 35-year-old pop superstar.”
From Variety US