RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE’s Tom Morello Backs Bruce Springsteen in Ongoing Clash with Donald Trump: “F*** That Guy”

Tom Morello has once again taken a stand from the stage — this time in support of his longtime friend and collaborator Bruce Springsteen, who recently reignited tensions with former U.S. President Donald Trump during a show in Manchester, UK. The two artists have shared both musical stages and political convictions for years, and Morello used his time at this past weekend’s Boston Calling festival to double down on that solidarity.

While performing on May 25th at the Harvard Athletic Complex, Morello introduced a cover of “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” — a track Rage Against The Machine famously covered in 2000 — with a fiery message:

“Alright, this next tune I’m going to dedicate to my friend Bruce Springsteen. He’s been in a tussle with the president lately, and you know, Bruce is going after Trump. to Bruce, his whole life, he’s been about truth, justice, democracy, equality, and Trump‘s mad at him because Bruce draws a much bigger audience. Fuck that guy, this is ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’.”

It wasn’t the only message Morello sent that night. At one point during his set, a backdrop lit up with “Fuck Trump”, and his guitar was emblazoned with “Fuck I.C.E.” — continuing his long-standing criticism of government institutions under both parties. A Harvard graduate, Morello also used the moment to champion his alma mater, which has become a recent target of Trump’s administration.

Morello’s remarks followed a string of impassioned statements made by Springsteen earlier this month. While performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester, the E Street Band frontman opened “Land Of Hope And Dreams” by declaring:

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n roll in dangerous times. 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. Tonight we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”

Later that same night, before playing “House Of A Thousand Guitars”, Springsteen added:

“The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.”

He further expanded on his stance ahead of “My City Of Ruins”, saying:

“There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.

In my country they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.

They are removing residents off American streets and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now. A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.

They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America I’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said, he said ‘in this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.”

Trump’s rebuttal came swiftly on Truth Social:

“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.

If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)?

This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

He continued with another post:

“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic “entertainers,” this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”

Springsteen’s peers were quick to show support. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam covered “My City Of Ruins” live at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on May 16th — a clear message of alignment.

Closing his remarks after the Boston Calling appearance, Morello posted the following on social media today, May 27th:

“FANTASTIC day at @bostoncalling rocking with dear friend @mrchuckd, supporting my alma mater @harvard’s resistance to Trump regime’s education bullying, standing up for my man @springsteen and sticking it to fascist minded fools one phat riff at a time. Authoritarians and billionaires think this country belongs to them but as Woody Guthrie reminds us, this land is your land. #GoCrimson”

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