75-year-old rocker Bruce Springsteen endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in a nearly three minute long video posted to social media Thursday evening. The endorsement, which comes as no surprise as “the Boss” has endorsed every Democrat presidential nominee for decades, follows pop star Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris last month. Springsteen called Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”
Swift’s endorsement had little positive to a small net negative impact on the race according to polls. Springsteen’s longtime association with the Democrats, including his friendship with Barack Obama, will likely mean his endorsement will have little impact on the race except to remind conservatives who were once fans of Springsteen why they no longer go to his shows or buy his music, even if they don’t turn the dial when Dancing in the Dark or Born to Run comes on the radio.
Springsteen set his announcement in the stark setting of an empty diner with a tiny, partially hidden American flag–an apt metaphor for the Biden-Harris years that makes one wonder why anyone would want four more years of that. Definitely not Reagan’s ‘Morning in America’ that Springsteen railed against when he was a 1980s superstar.
Springsteen said the current situation was like when the Civil War took place, “Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually and emotionally divided as it does at this moment. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Springsteen helped lead that division. While om tour in Australia in January 2017 after Trump was inaugurated, he said he and the E Street Band were part of “the new resistance”:
Bruce @springsteen says he and the E Street Band stand with Women’s March participants: “We are part of the new resistance.” pic.twitter.com/veUdOJKdsh
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 23, 2017
Springsteen performed in occupied Washington, D.C. in January 2021 to celebrate the triumph of the anti-Trump ‘resistance’ at the Biden-Harris inaugural:
In case you missed it, Bruce opened the #CelebratingAmerica concert special with a stirring performance of “Land Of Hope And Dreams” to mark the inauguration of @POTUS Joe Biden and @VP Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/DKbx6ZxKnb
— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) January 23, 2021
Springsteen’s video endorsing Harris:
NEW
Bruce Springsteen formally endorses Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in a new video where he calls Donald Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”
“Hi, I’m Bruce Springsteen. Friends, fans, and the press have asked me who I’m supporting in this most… pic.twitter.com/JiZ9d9ejkf
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) October 3, 2024
Transcript via Yashar Ali/X:
Hi, I’m Bruce Springsteen. Friends, fans, and the press have asked me who I’m supporting in this most important of elections.
And with full knowledge that my opinions are no more or less important than those of any of my fellow citizens, here’s my answer: I’m supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Waltz for Vice President and opposing Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Here’s why.
We are shortly coming upon one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history. Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually, and emotionally divided as it does then at this moment.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
The common values, the shared stories that make us a great and united nation are waiting to be rediscovered and retold once again.
Now that will take time, hard work, intelligence, faith and women and men with the national good, guiding their hearts.
America’s the most powerful nation on earth. Not just because of her overwhelming military strength or economic power, but because of what she stands for, what she means, what she believes in: freedom, social justice, equal opportunity, the right to be and love who you want.
These are the things that make America great.
Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate for President in my lifetime. His disdain for the sanctity of our constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of President ever again.
He doesn’t understand the meaning of this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American.
On the other hand, Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz are committed to a vision of this country that respects and includes everyone regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view or sexual identity, and they want to grow our economy in a way that benefits all, not just the few like me on top. That’s the vision of America I’ve been consistently writing about for 55 years now.
Everybody sees things different, and I respect your choice as a fellow citizen, but like you, I’ve only got one vote, and it’s one of the most precious possessions that I have.
That’s why come November 5th, I’ll be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Springsteen, who has largely held on to his liberal fan base, is on a month-long break in his current world tour with shows set for Canada in late October and November, leaving him available to play Kamala Harris rallies the next few weeks to help her draw crowds like he did for Barack Obama.
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