Bruce Springsteen used the opening night of his Los Angeles tour stop Tuesday to renew his criticism of President Trump, telling the crowd at Inglewood’s Kia Forum that the country is “currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration.”
The 76-year-old rocker performed at the Kia Forum on Tuesday, where he addressed concertgoers with the remarks before asking them to join him in “choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness.”
The Los Angeles shows are part of Mr. Springsteen’s 20-city “Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour,” which kicked off March 31 in Minneapolis and runs through May 27 at Washington’s Nationals Park. Mr. Springsteen told the Minneapolis crowd the outing was assembled specifically in response to current events.
“This is a tour that was not planned,” he said. “We’re here tonight because we need to feel your hope, and your strength.”
On opening night in Minneapolis, Mr. Springsteen told the crowd: “We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals — democracy, our Constitution and our sacred American promise.” He called Mr. Trump a “snowflake” who “can’t handle the truth” and said the White House is “destroying the American idea and our reputation around the world.”
The tour followed Mr. Springsteen’s appearance at an anti-Trump “No Kings” rally in Saint Paul, Minnesota in late March. Prior to the tour’s launch, Mr. Springsteen told the Minnesota Star Tribune he was prepared for criticism over the political nature of the shows. “My job is very simple: I do what I want to do, I say what I want to say, and then people get to say what they want to say about it,” he said. “The blowback is just part of it. I’m ready for all that.”
Mr. Trump responded to the Minneapolis opener on Truth Social, calling Mr. Springsteen “a total loser who spews hate” and urging his supporters to boycott the tour.
“MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY,” Mr. Trump wrote. In a follow-up post, the president asked, “Is Bruce Springsteen going to sue his plastic surgeon?”
The American Federation of Musicians responded to Mr. Trump’s remarks, with leaders of two AFM locals — Local 802 in New York and Local 47 in Los Angeles — saying they “could not remain silent as one of our most celebrated members is singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States.”
Mr. Springsteen and Mr. Trump have clashed repeatedly over the years. Mr. Springsteen endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, calling Mr. Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.” Mr. Springsteen is also scheduled to perform a second Los Angeles date at the Kia Forum on Thursday.
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