Bruce Springsteen came out swinging on the opening night of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour, using his platform not just for music—but for a scathing political takedown.
From the stage in Manchester, England, the rock legend didn’t mince words. “We are currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” Springsteen told the crowd, slamming President Donald Trump and his allies.
“There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous s‑‑‑ going on out there right now,” he said. “In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent.”
Springsteen—long known for championing working-class Americans and progressive values—ripped into the political direction of the country under Trump’s leadership.
“In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death,” he said. “In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society.”
He didn’t stop there. Springsteen accused Trump’s administration of betraying allies, empowering dictators, and punishing institutions that refuse to fall in line with right-wing ideology.
“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,” Springsteen warned.
That comment came just weeks after the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in long-term grants to Harvard University. The move followed the school’s refusal to comply with federal demands related to campus protests and diversity programs.
“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 added, referencing the administration’s controversial use of immigration powers to detain and deport hundreds of migrants, many sent to a prison in El Salvador.
Springsteen wasn’t just targeting Trump—he also laid into Congress. “A majority of our elected representatives” he said, have failed to “protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”
“They have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American,” he added.
Still, amid the fury, Springsteen offered a note of resilience and defiance.
“The America that l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real,” he told the audience. “And regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment.”
He ended with a rallying cry: “To all who believe in democracy—raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”
Watch the clip below:
Must watch as Bruce Springsteen opens his European Tour eviscerating Trump: "My home, the America I love that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration." pic.twitter.com/4SFQFecjZB
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) May 15, 2025
