American Federation of Musicians wades into Bruce Springsteen's war of words with Donald Trump

Bruce Springsteen performs during the first night of 'The Land of Hopes and Dreams' tour at Co-op Live on May 14, 2025 in Manchester, England. — (Image credit: Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) says it stands "in solidarity" with Bruce Springsteen as his war of words with Donald Trump wages on.

The Boss has long been an outspoken critic of the 45th and 47th President of the United States. But he made headlines with his latest comments about "treasonous" Trump at his show in Manchester, England.

Springsteen, performing with the E Street Band on their Land of Hope and Dreams tour, told the audience at the Co-op Live Arena this week: "The America I love is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.

"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.

"They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that 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.

"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."

Unsurprisingly, Trump did not remain quiet when news of Springsteen's comments reached him.

On his Truth Social account, Trump referred to Springsteen as a "dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker" and said he is "not a talented guy". Seemingly the President's thoughts on the musician's talent have changed, since he has used Springsteen's song Born In The U.S.A on multiple political campaigns in the past.

Trump has also been critical of pop megastar Taylor Swift, and his latest outburst against The Boss has led the AFM to release a statement.

The union says: "The AFM 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.

"Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in solidarity with all our members."

Safe to say that as the Land of Hope and Dreams tour continues, the chances of Springsteen responding to Trump's comments are high.

Posted by afm.org on

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.