Bruce Springsteen Releases Anti-Trump Diss EP

New Jersey is indeed for haters. Bruce Springsteen has escalated his beef with Donald Trump, dropping an entire live EP of anti-Trump jeremiads. According to Variety, the songs (and righteously angry intros) all come from the opening night of the Boss’s latest tour. Recorded in Manchester on May 14, Land of Hope and Dreams has four songs and two introductory rants. Springsteen’s remarks prompted Trump to post wild stuff on Truth Social, but so does shit like the perceived downgrading of Columbus Day. How did things go full “Not Like Us” between the Boss and the Prez? Here’s a full timeline of the beef.

Past presidential pop-offs

1984: President Ronald Reagan so woefully misunderstand’s Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” that it radicalizes the Boss, according to biographer Marc Dolan. The song is about a disaffected veteran, but Reagan called it hopeful and idealistic. This pushed Springsteen to be more vocal about his pro-labor stance and to allow left-leaning orgs to fundraise at his shows.

2008: Springsteen performs at concerts for Obama throughout the Rust Belt. “After the disaster of the last eight years, we need somebody to lead us in an American reclamation project,” he said at one show. The previous election year, he’d also gone on an anti-Bush tour with fellow musicians.

2021: Springsteen and former president Barack Obama co-host a podcast together. The show is subtitled “Born in the USA,” which you know has to be pissing off Reagan’s ghost.

Springsteen vs. Trump

September 2016: In an interview for Rolling Stone, Springsteen says “The republic is under siege by a moron,” referring to Trump and what we now know will be a successful presidential campaign. “The whole thing is tragic. Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy … The ideas he’s moving to the mainstream are all very dangerous ideas — white nationalism and the alt-right movement. The outrageous things that he‘s done — not immediately disavowing David Duke? These are things that are obviously beyond the pale for any previous political candidate. It would sink your candidacy immediately.” Later that year, he will call Trump a “conman” on the BBC and perform at a Hillary Clinton rally.

2020: Springsteen used his SiriusXM show to stump for Joe Biden. He did a whole episode called “Farewell to the Thief” dunking on the incumbent and calling his administration “the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.”

October 2024: Springsteen officially endorses Kamala Harris in an IG video, saying Trump’s “disdain for the sanctity of our Constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of president ever again.” Later in the month, he attends rallies for Harris in Philly and Georgia.

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May 14, 2025: Springsteen calls out Trump 2.0 at his first show during his European 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,” he said while introducing his 2001 track “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Springsteen called the Trump admin “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous.”

Trump responded to Springsteen’s callout, calling him a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” and that his skin had “atrophied.” On Truth Social, he said “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.” Earlier in the day, Trump had also said Taylor Swift was “no longer ‘HOT’” which is about as counterfactual as claiming Springsteen needs any tips on skincare. The man is glowing.

May 21, 2025: Springsteen announces the Land of Hope and Dreams EP. In response, Trump shares a fan edit of him hitting a golf ball, which appears to trip Springsteen on stage.

• [variety]

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