Bruce Springsteen has once again spoken out against President Donald Trump and his administration, continuing a long-running public feud between the two.
In a recent PBS interview, Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song, the legendary rocker reflected on politics, patriotism, and why he believes artists have a responsibility to speak up when they see problems in their country.
During the conversation, Springsteen described the Trump administration as a “ship of fools” while explaining his view of what it means to be patriotic.
“I believe in critical patriotism,” he said. “I believe that’s the definition of a patriot—that you love your country so much that you are willing to look at it clearly, recognize its faults, encourage it to be a better place, and believe that you carry in your heart the country that is waiting.”
The interview also touched on his recent protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” which Springsteen said he wrote in response to ICE raids in Minnesota. Unlike many of his earlier songs, which often carried political themes indirectly, he said this one was intended as a direct protest.
“I was very angry,” Springsteen explained. “Usually, I write songs that have a lot of political implications but very often are not directly political. So, in this case, I wrote a protest song.”
At first, Springsteen questioned whether the song was too direct. However, he said fellow musician Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine encouraged him to keep its message strong.
According to Springsteen, Morello told him, “Nuance is great, but sometimes you’ve gotta kick ’em in the teeth.”
Despite his sharp criticism of the current administration, Springsteen said he remains hopeful about America’s future.
“I think we’re going through a very, very difficult period,” he said. “But I tend to remain realistically optimistic that the country will pull out of it and something new will be born from it that is good.”
The latest remarks add to years of public disagreements between Springsteen and Trump. The two have frequently criticized one another, with Springsteen remaining one of Trump’s most outspoken critics in the music world.
At the time of publication, Trump and his administration had not publicly responded to Springsteen’s latest comments. Earlier this year, however, Trump criticized the singer on Truth Social, calling him “a bad, and very boring singer” and adding that he “looks like a dried up prune.”
Springsteen has consistently maintained that speaking out on political issues is part of his role as both an artist and a citizen, and his latest interview makes clear that he has no plans to step back from expressing his views.