The Media Research Center has long been upset that Bruce Springsteen won’t be a good little right-winger. Tim Graham expressed more Springsteen derangement in his May 23 column:
When Donald Trump is president, it’s considered dangerously authoritarian if he accuses someone of treason – and it’s considered heroic “truth-telling” when you accuse Trump of being a treasonous authoritarian.
The latest exhibit is leftist rock star/first-rate tax evader Bruce Springsteen. On a concert stage in Manchester, England, Bruce went Full Dixie Chicks by attacking the president on a European stage.
“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration,” Springsteen declared. “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”
Wait several drum beats, and out came The Washington Post, with a laudatory article by pop music critic Chris Richards. The headline blared: “Bruce Springsteen is fighting for the America he sings about: On a powerful new live recording, the rock legend isn’t warning us about approaching authoritarianism. ‘This is happening now.’”
This is what liberal journalists do. When they fail in their mission to elect Democrats, then democracy is vanishing. When Trump attacks the liberal media and seeks to deprive it of government subsidies, the “authoritarianism” is happening. That’s funny: many voters feel that using government money to push for a permanently Democrat-run government is anti-democracy.
Graham omits the difference between Trump and Springsteen making accusations of authoritarianism: Trump is the president of the United States and can put legal force behind his words, while Springsteen is just a musician with no legal authority. Graham also doesn’t prove Springsteen wrong — he’s just mad that the Boss said what he said. Graham further complained that Trump alleged without evidence that Springsteen and other celebrities were paid for their endorsement of Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, but he offered no evidence that Springsteen was, in fact, paid. Instead, Graham whined further of Springsteen:
He endorsed Harris in a video, not on a rally stage. But nobody was fact-checking Springsteen when he claimed the Harris-Walz ticket represented the “working class,” as if Bidenomics was terrific for average Americans.
Forbes estimates that Springsteen is a billionaire, since he sold his music catalog for about a half-billion dollars in 2021. But he will sit in a diner and put on a plaid jacket and play himself up as an aw-shucks commoner when he endorses inflation-inflaming Democrats for president. That’s not exactly “truth-telling.” It’s about as authentic as his sketchy tax returns.
Again, Graham offered no evidence that Democrats are solely to blame for inflation — and he offers absolutely no evidence that Springsteen is a “tax evader.” He just seems bitter that Springsteen is doing better in life than he is.
Intern Shannon Sauders got the job of bashing people who praised Springsteen’s criticism of Trump in a May 30 post:
Springsteen referred to Trump’s administration as “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous” during his “The Land of Hopes and Dreams” tour in Manchester, England, but when Trump says Springsteen is “overrated” and a “jerk,” host Willie Geist quipped, “Fact check, neither true.”
Of course, Morning Joe, Trump’s opinions are wrong and Hollywood’s are right, but just to be sure, they brought on Palmieri who published an article on Thursday for The Bulwark titled, “How Bruce Springsteen Gave Us a Roadmap for Surviving Trump.”
As Palmieri fumbled through her words, despite her previous role in the White House for communications, she admitted the most “courageous” thing Springsteen said all night was “we will survive this.”
Actually, Springsteen is from New Jersey and is arguably not “Hollywood.” Sauders sent on to praise Springsteen cover bands for reacting unfavorably to the Boss’s statements:
The rhetoric presented highlights that the left still cannot comprehend Trump’s second term win or policies. It is no secret that entertainers have been using their platform to demonize Trump for a decade, but some fan bases are putting the foot down. Host Jonathan Lemire adds that cover bands for Springsteen are pulling the plug playing at local bars on the Jersey Shore because they were “angry at what The Boss himself had to say.”
The left’s criticism of Trump and the administration is displayed on media platforms when a celebrity says something outrageous towards Trump because it fits their agenda. If more people started to do what Springsteen’s cover bands did in New Jersey, entertainers will have to accept that people just want entertainment from them, not politics.
But aren’t those cover bands making a political statement by reacting in that way? Why won’t Sauders call out that particular political statement?