Bruce Springsteen Rips 'Incompetent' Trump Administration In Epic Rant At First Stop On European Tour

As rocker Bruce Springsteen kicked off his Land of Hope and Dreams European Tour, he called out “a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” lamenting the state of the U.S. under President Donald Trump.

Speaking onstage in Manchester, England, Springsteen beseeched "all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring." He told the audience that "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 added:

“The last check on power after the checks and balances have failed, are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values — now that’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve really got is each other."

He also addressed many of the developments in the country—including the deportation of migrants without due process and the politically motivated attacks against those exercising their free speech—to make his point further:

“[There is] some very weird, strange and dangerous s**t going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction and abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. 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 led to a more just and moral 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.”

The crowd cheered when Springsteen said that “a majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”

You can hear his remarks in the video below.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Many concurred.

It clearly got under Donald Trump's skin, since Trump himself even responded, urging Springsteen to "Keep his mouth shut", which isn't very First Amendment-y of him.

Springsteen has been outspoken in his opposition to Trump over the years.

At a campaign rally last year for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, Springsteen urged Americans to support her candidacy, calling Trump “the most dangerous candidate of my lifetime.” The rock icon also performed during the event and cautioned that Trump was “running to be an American tyrant.”

Oddly, Trump was widely mocked after boasting about the size of the crowd for his MAGA rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, last year, comparing it to a Springsteen concert. Despite Springsteen's concerts typically drawing tens of thousands of fans to stadiums, Trump claimed his rally had a larger attendance. Additionally, he asserted that Springsteen had actually voted for him.

A spokesperson for the city of Wildwood supported Trump's claim, estimating the crowd size to be between 80,000 and 100,000 based on her observations.

However, footage from the rally contradicted these claims. While Trump's supporters filled the space behind him, videos showed a noticeably sparse crowd in front of him. The audience dwindled further as his speech continued for over 90 minutes.