Bruce Springsteen Unloads On Trump At Summer Tour Kickoff

Bruce Springsteen slammed U.S. president Donald Trump as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” last night (May 14) before he and the E Street Band had even struck a note at their summer European tour opener in Co-Op Live in Manchester, England.

“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,” the artist said prior to “Land of Hope and Dreams.” “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!”

More from Spin:

• GIRLS IN WAITING
• Prince Royce: ‘With Music, We Can Become One’ 
• Here’s Why Comics Artist Jack Kirby Still Reigns Supreme 

Later, before “House of a Thousand Guitars,” he noted that “the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people” is “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.”

The Boss then spoke at length when introducing “My City of Ruins” about the “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,” he added. “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,” he said. “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: ‘in this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.”

The Springsteen tour continues through early July. Last night’s show wrapped with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” which the artist hadn’t played live since 1988.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.