Bruce Springsteen's Onstage Antics With The Obamas Were The Ultimate Middle Finger To Trump
The longstanding drama between Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump started with a typically Trumpian remark. While speaking at a rally in 2019, the divisive Republican politician took a shot at former opponent Hillary Clinton by bragging that he didn't even need the support of "little Bruce Springsteen" and other big names to emerge victorious in the 2016 presidential elections. Shortly afterward, The Boss sat down for a chat with Gayle King for CBS' "This Morning," where he openly criticized Trump, arguing, "The stewardship of the nation is — has been thrown away to somebody who doesn't have a clue as to what that means. [...] And unfortunately, we have somebody who I feel doesn't have a grasp of the deep meaning of what it means to be an American."
There's no doubt that Springsteen believes the opposite to be true of Former President Barack Obama since they remained friends ever since the legendary performer endorsed the Democratic candidate in the 2008 elections. The "Dancing in the Dark" hitmaker's tight-knit bond with the Obamas was on full display in 2023 when Michelle Obama joined Springsteen on stage and performed backing vocals for "Glory Days."
Lady 0 dancing with The Boss pic.twitter.com/oAKfulcmEx
— Rachel Bitecofer 🗽🦆 (@RachelBitecofer) May 23, 2025
While most people found the moment incredibly sweet, Trump likely wasn't too pleased to see three prominent people he shares a mutual dislike with collaborating publicly. In fact, Springsteen's family friendship with the Obamas may have given him even more reason to dislike the Grammy winner. However, the legendary rocker hasn't grown any fonder of the divisive politician over the years either, since he has made it clear he doesn't believe that Trump was "Born to Run" the country.
Donald Trump's attempts to poke fun at Bruce Springsteen haven't gone down well
Before launching into "My City in Ruins" at his Manchester concert, in May 2025, Bruce Springsteen expressed his concern for the state of his beloved home country. In the iconic singer's speech, he took aim at Donald Trump by pointing out, "A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government," (via The Guardian). Shortly afterward, Trump hit back at Springsteen for the most ironic thing ever. The president went on a typical Truth Social rant where he labeled the "Born In The U.S.A." hitmaker "highly overrated" and slammed him for backing Joe Biden.
One of the oldest presidents to be sworn in, in U.S. history, also tried to poke fun at the Grammy winner's age and skin by describing him as a "dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!)." In another Truth Social post, Trump hinted that he was actually quite bothered by how his former opponent Kamala Harris had the support of Springsteen and several other A-listers during her 2024 campaign. The outspoken politician claimed that the former vice president had illegally bought the celebrity endorsements "under the guise of paying for entertainment."
A few days later, Trump's immaturity reached a fever pitch with an odd Springsteen video amid their nasty feud. The divisive politician took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share an edited video of him playing golf and paired it with a clip of the legendary rocker falling on stage to make it look like the golf ball had knocked him over.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2025