American Federation of Music backs Bruce Springsteen after Donald Trump urges MAGA to boycott singer
The American Federation of Musicians have come together to show support for Bruce Springsteen after President Donald Trump’s latest insulting remarks against ‘The Boss’.
Dan Point, the president of the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 802, based in Manhattan and Marc Sazer, the president of the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 47, based in Los Angeles, have joined forces to release a statement expressing solidarity.
Notably, Springsteen is a paid-up member of the union’s New Jersey branch.
The statement from Point and Sazer began, “We can not remain silent as one of our most celebrated members is singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States.”
On ‘The Boss’, the message continued, “Bruce Springsteen is not just a brilliant musician, he is a voice for working people, a symbol of American resilience, and an inspiration to millions in this country and around the world. From Nebraska to Born to Run, his music has spoken truth to power for decades, and that is exactly what he is doing now.”
It powerfully continued, “Musicians have the right to freedom of expression, and we stand in complete solidarity with Bruce and every member who uses their platform to speak their conscience. Local 802 and Local 47 will always defend that right.”
While Springsteen and Trump have previously exchanged insults in the past, the president’s latest remarks were the final straw that led to the American Federation of Musicians’ intervention.
The president wrote on April 2nd, “Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Trump continued, “The guy is a total loser who spews hate against a President who won a Landslide Election, including the popular vote, all Seven Swing States, and 86% of the Counties across America. Under Sleepy Joe and the Dems, our Country was DEAD, and now we have the ‘hottest’ Country, by far, anywhere in the World.”
He concluded, in all caps, by writing, “MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. AMERICA IS BACK!!! President DJT”.
It came after Springsteen kicked off the US leg of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour in Minneapolis on March 31st, dedicating a large proportion of the concert to criticising the Trump administration.
“We are living through some very dark times,” the singer declared up on stage, “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.”
He also directly said of Trump, “You want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can’t handle the truth. This is happening now.”
Springsteen is yet to respond to Trump’s comments, but he will have an opportunity to do so tonight (April 3rd) when he performs at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
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