Recently, Bruce Springsteen announced that his upcoming Land of Hope and Dreams Tour with the E Street Band would incorporate a political angle. He fulfilled this commitment during the tour's opening night on Tuesday, March 31, in Minneapolis.
The concert commenced with Springsteen's performance of Edwin Starr's iconic 1970 Motown hit "War." The setlist at the sold-out Target Center included a mix of his timeless classics, spanning songs such as "Born in the U.S.A." to "The Rising." As anticipated, his remarks mirrored the sentiments he expressed when he performed “Streets of Minneapolis” at the flagship No Kings rally just days earlier.
During the concert, he intensified his critique of President Donald Trump, urging attendees to "fight for the America that we love." According to Variety, Springsteen addressed the audience, stating, “We are living through some very dark times,” and added, “Our American values that have sustained us for 250 years are being challenged as never before. We’ve got our young men and women’s lives at risk in an unconstitutional and illegal war.”
Furthermore, Springsteen directly targeted the Trump administration, remarking, “Our Justice Department has completely abdicated its independence, and our Attorney General Pam Bondi takes her marching orders straight from a corrupt White House.”
As he continued, he discussed the administration's impact on American cultural and historical institutions. “Our museums are being told to whitewash American history of any unpleasant or inconvenient facts like the full history of the brutality of slavery,” Springsteen stated. He provocatively added, “You want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can’t handle the truth.” Throughout his impassioned speech, he reiterated, “This is happening now.”
In a prior interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune published last week, Springsteen, a long-time critic of Trump and his administration, outlined his vision for the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour: “The tour is going to be political and very topical about what’s going on in the country.”
“The E Street Band is built for hard times,” he stated. “It always was. These are the moments when I think we can be of real value and real worth to the community.
Share this story