Bruce Springsteen Slams Trump at Minneapolis Tour Opener

Bruce Springsteen (Ist)

JAKARTA - Bruce Springsteen opened his tour in Minneapolis with a harsh criticism of US President Donald Trump and his administration. In the concert on Tuesday night, Springsteen said America was in the hands of a "corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treacherous" government.

HuffPost quoted Wednesday, April 1, reporting that the statement was delivered by Springsteen at the beginning of the show and was immediately greeted with cheers from the audience. "The America I love, the America I've been writing about for 50 years, which has been a beacon of hope and freedom for the world, is now in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous government," said Springsteen.

He then invited the audience to choose "resistance over silence, unity over division, and peace over war". After that, he performed The Temptations' "War", then continued with "Born In The U.S.A."

Springsteen didn't stop there. He again criticized Trump and the "corrupt White House", which he said had turned the United States into a "wild, unpredictable, predatory country". He also repeatedly said, "This is what's happening right now."

HuffPost, citing Variety, wrote that Springsteen also criticized Trump for waging "an unconstitutional and illegal war", "abandoning NATO", and threatening "our neighbors and allies". He also accused museums in America of being asked to whitewash the country's history of uncomfortable facts, including the brutal history of slavery. "Want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can't accept the truth," he said.

Springsteen also attacked Attorney General Pam Bondi. According to him, Bondi sued parties considered enemies by the president, covered up his mistakes, and protected his powerful friends.

The concert, which lasted almost three hours, also featured Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

This is not the first time Springsteen has attacked Trump from the stage. Huffpost reported, last year, during a tour in Europe, he also delivered similar criticism. At that time Trump responded via social media by calling Springsteen "a jerk and a pretentious organizer" and "dry prem", and asked him to "shut up".

But Springsteen continues to speak out. Earlier this year, he released the protest song "Streets of Minneapolis" after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two Americans protesting Trump and his immigration policies in the city. The "Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour" is scheduled to end in Washington, D.C., in May.