Bruce Springsteen opened his tour Land of Hope and Dreams along with the E Street Band throwing darts against Donald Trump from Minneapolis, the same city that has experienced the ravages of the American president’s immigration policy and police repression. In the first performance, on Tuesday night, the musician fulfilled his promise and gave a politically charged show. It was to be expected that he would do so, not only because he had already anticipated it, but also because of his opposition to the US Government with its participation in the demonstration. No Kings in Saint Paul (Minnesota) a few days ago or his tour of the United Kingdom in 2025 where he called the Trump administration “traitor.” In 2026, Donald Trump referred to him as a talentless man, “just an arrogant, hateful idiot,” and compared him to “a raisin.”
It was a three-hour concert, with 27 songs — with a free live broadcast of the first two, War y Born in the USA— and harsh criticism of US policy on war, immigration persecutions, authorities, cancellations of aid programs and world order. Each intervention closed with a forceful: “This is happening right now.”
The first thing he did was pray for “the men and women serving abroad, and for their safe return,” and he dedicated the presentation to “the celebration and defense of American ideals.” He then performed a version of Warby Motown Edwin, popularized by him in 1983 that talks about the Vietnam era and says: “War, what’s it for? Absolutely nothing.”
“We are living in very dark times,” said the singer, and in relation to the offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran, which has been going on for just over a month, he denounced: “Our American values, which have sustained us for 250 years, are being tested like never before. The lives of our young people are at risk in an unconstitutional and illegal war. This is happening right now.”
Symbolic were his words on the ground of Minneapolis, which experienced police repression in protests against immigration policy where American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered at the hands of ICE agents. “There are immigrants being held in detention centers across the country and deported without due legal process to foreign countries and foreign gulags. This is happening right now.” The singer performed Streets of Minneapolisthe anti-ICE protest song released at the end of January. This time was the first time he sang it with the E Street Band.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general of the North American country, also received hers: “Our Department of Justice has completely renounced its independence, and our attorney general, Pam Bondi, receives direct orders from a corrupt White House. She pursues the supposed enemies of our president, covers up his misdeeds and protects his powerful friends. This is happening right now.”
The singer also criticized “the dismantling of USAID”, the abandonment of NATO and the world order, the historical narrative that now predominates in the country that forces the concealment of “any unpleasant or uncomfortable fact, such as the complete history of the brutality of slavery”, and accused Trump and his family of “enriching themselves with billions of dollars, trafficking with public office in unprecedented corruption.”
The reason for the tour
During a break, Springsteen took the time to explain the reason for this tour of the United States. “We are here tonight because we need to feel your hope and your strength, and we want to give you some hope and strength,” and he asked for God’s blessing for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, for the public and for America.
“These are difficult times, but we will get through this,” he said. In his words, far from denying his country, he called to reclaim American values and unite in a common goal: “We are Americans. But I think, I know, that for me, the most difficult thing about all this is feeling the distance between neighbors, fellow citizens.” The singer lamented having a leader “who claims to wish nothing but harm to those who disagree with him and those who disagree with him.” But for him, the United States was born from disagreement, it was built on disagreement, and it is necessary to debate the direction of the country, recognizing the common humanity, dignity and unity of citizens.
To appeal to that fraternity, he recalled Renee Good’s last words to an ICE agent before she was murdered, which were recorded in a video uploaded to social networks: “It’s okay, friend, I’m not mad at you.” “God bless her,” Springsteen said, inviting everyone to follow the woman’s example and find “strong and peaceful measures to defend the ideals of our country.” To top it off, he quoted civil rights activist and advocate John Lewis: “Go out and get into fair trouble.”