Springsteen Shares Trump Sentiments With Aussies

Touring with the E Street Band on the other side of the world did not stop Bruce Springsteen from adding to the chorus of artists’ disapproval of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency.

Walter Bieri / Keystone via AP – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland.

The setlist for the 12-date Summer 17 tour through Frontier Touring was shaped for comment. Some hits were jettisoned to make way for “No Surrender,” “Two Hearts,” “The Promised Land,” “American Land” and “The Ties That Bind.”

At the first of three Perth shows at Perth Arena Jan 22, Springsteen declared the birth of “the new American resistance,” adding that it was the job of the E Street Band to “inspire people during tough times.”

As events unfolded in the U.S., he shared his thoughts with Australian fans.

At Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Jan. 30, he said to cheers, “Tonight we want to add our voices to the thousands of Americans who are protesting at airports around the country the Muslim ban and the detention of foreign nationals and refugees. America is a land of immigrants and we find this anti-democratic and fundamentally un-American.”

Another flashpoint was a Feb. 2 terse telephone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

It was over a deal struck with the Obama administration for the United States to take in refugees sheltering in Pacific islands.

Trump reportedly told the Australian leader it was a “dumb deal” and would export the “next Boston bombers” to the U.S. before hanging up.

Both men denied the conversation was heated. That night at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Springsteen told the audience, “We stand before you embarrassed Americans.” He continued, “We’re going to use this to send a letter back home.” before a cover of The Orions’ 1962 Top 5 hit “Don’t Hang Up.”