(Credits: Far Out / Disney / Daniel Torok)
Sun 18 January 2026 13:27, UK
Bruce Springsteen has been consistently vocal about his opposition to Donald Trump; now, he has called for the removal of ICE from Minneapolis as tensions surge in the American city.
During an unbilled set at the Light of Day WinterFest concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey, Springsteen played alongside Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers, and that band’s guest, Gary U.S. Bonds.
In his introduction to ‘The Promised Land’, Springsteen was not afraid to bring politics to the stage, musing, “I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility. It was about a both beautiful but flawed country, that we are, and the country that we could be.”
Reflecting on the current day, The Boss added, “Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years, is being tested as it’s never been in modern times.”
He went on, “Those values and those ideals have never been as endangered as they are right now. So as we gather tonight in this beautiful display of love and care and thoughtfulness and community, if you believe in democracy and liberty and believe the truth still matters, you must speak out and it’s worth fighting for.”
His call for resistance continued, “If you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it. If you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city, using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens.”
Springsteen continued, “If you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, send a message to this president as the mayor of that city has said, ICE should get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
As the first notes of the song began, Springsteen finished, “This song is for you and the memory of a mother of three, American Renee Good.”
Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE official, Jonathan Ross, on January 7th in Minnesota. In the aftermath of her tragic death, protests have surged across the United States.
This is not the first time Springsteen has been vocal about the dangers of the Trump administration. During his summer tour in the UK and Europe, Springsteen delivered a rallying cry each night to the crowd while introducing ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’.
At every show, he told those in the audience, “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.”
Trump retaliated via a rant on Truth Social. He called Springsteen “highly overrated” before adding, “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.”
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