Bruce Springsteen struck a nerve with his criticism of Trump. Who else has the courage to speak up? | Editorial

Sometimes it’s hard to determine what’s worse. President Donald Trump’s rampant incompetence, illegality, graft, extortion and abuse … or the feeble response by the Democrats to all that he has wrought.

That is what made Bruce Springsteen’s takedown of the president so compelling. The New Jersey rock star opened his European tour by underscoring the “dangerous times” in America — all because the country is “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.”

He called on all who believe in democracy to raise their voices “against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”

Before launching into a song titled “My City of Ruins,” Springsteen warned there’s “some weird, strange, and dangerous [stuff] going on out there right now. In America they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent.”

He added that “the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death” while “taking sadistic pleasure” in inflicting pain on American workers.

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Springsteen listed some of Trump’s most egregious actions, including rolling back civil rights protections, abandoning allies, siding with dictators, defunding universities and “removing residents off American streets and without due process of law.”

He underscored how many elected representatives have failed to shield the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”

Some may dismiss Springsteen’s comments as the partisan musings of an aging, wealthy rocker who has long supported liberal causes and performed at rallies in Philadelphia for candidates like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris.

But Springsteen is a generational voice of the older, white, working class, which also happens to be Trump’s MAGA base.

Indeed, Trump’s response shows how much he fears being exposed as a con man who does not care about average Americans. In a demented social media post the morning after the concert, Trump called Springsteen “dumb as a rock” and a “dried prune of a rocker.”

He took a strange separate shot at Taylor Swift, asking his followers: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”

Clearly triggered, Trump couldn’t let Springsteen go. A couple of days later, he posted another rant in all caps demanding to know, “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?”

Trump wondered whether that amounted to an illegal campaign contribution before calling for an investigation.

These are more than idle rantings. Under Trump, the Justice Department has arrested judges, indicted a congresswoman, dropped corruption charges against the New York mayor who agreed to cooperate with the administration’s immigration crackdowns, and opened an investigation against the mayor‘s main political rival.

Trump also warned Springsteen to “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT.”

But Springsteen was undeterred.

He opened his next concert with the song, “No Surrender” before repeating the comments about the dangers of Trump. He released a six-track EP with the comments from the concert underscoring that this was a planned call to action.

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“Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy, and they’re too important to ignore,” Springsteen said.

Trump then posted a doctored video of him hitting Springsteen with a golf ball.

It’s painfully clear that Trump is not a serious person, let alone remotely presidential.

Springsteen, on the other hand, has spent his career exploring social justice issues, the plight of marginalized communities, and the negative impact of corporate greed, while expressing a belief in the founding ideals of America.

His critique of Trump packed an added and particularly noteworthy punch for its unvarnished truth at a time when so many have been cowed into silence or submission.

Sure, others have pushed back — including Gov. JB Pritzker, Sens. Cory Booker, Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett — but for the most part, Democrats have been meek and divided while America burns.

The lack of a unified, forceful response from Democrats combined with Republican rubber stamps have essentially left Trump with unchecked power. Meanwhile, many corporate titans, media executives, white shoe law firms, and university presidents have put profits above patriotism in a rush to curry favor or appease Trump.

In the 1960s, protest music helped fuel the civil rights movement and Vietnam War opposition, while famed boxer Muhammad Ali’s activism risked his career.

But today many musicians and celebrities have remained silent for fear of losing sponsors and fans, or facing the viral wrath of Trump and his rabid MAGA supporters. Credit rockers Neil Young and Eddie Vedder for voicing support for Springsteen, while actor Robert DeNiro said, “We can’t have apathy and silence. You have to speak up and risk being harassed.”

Springsteen’s clarion call made clear that it’s going to take a unified effort to preserve democracy.

“The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people,” he said. “At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.”