Trump-Springsteen feud: Neil Young chimes in

Singer Neil Young speaks during a news conference before the last concert in his 'Honour the Treaties' tour in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

As Bruce Springsteen’s feud with U.S. President Donald Trump drags on, it would appear that the all-American rockstar has some backup from across the border.

In a Tuesday blog post, Canadian musician Neil Young chimed into the ongoing social media battle between Trump and Springsteen, a vocal Democratic Party supporter and friend of former U.S. president Barack Obama. Springsteen launched a blistering rebuke of the president on tour, last week.

“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,” Springsteen told a Manchester, U.K., crowd last Thursday.

“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.”

In the days since, Trump’s response has been stark, calling Springsteen, 75, a "dried out ‘prune,’" but also threatening a federal investigation into his and other celebrities’ involvement in Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” asked the president, 78, in a Monday post to Truth Social.

“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!”

The next day, Young took to his personal blog to share his two cents with Trump directly.

“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America. You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza. That’s your problem,” the post reads. “STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made.”

Young also appealed to the president’s supporters, telling Republicans to “wake up” and calling Trump “out of control.”

“We need a real president!” the post concludes.

It’s not Young’s first foray into digital-age activism.

In 2022, the musician announced he would pull his catalogue from Spotify over concerns of vaccine misinformation spreading on the platform. The boycott would last just over two years, along the way attracting support from fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell.

On the Springsteen feud, it seems that Young hasn’t had the final word on the matter, just yet.

Wednesday morning, Trump shared a video on social media splicing together a clip of him hitting a golf ball with a second clip of Springsteen tripping onstage, complete with an animated golf ball bouncing off his back as he loses his footing.

“The President of the United States of America,” reads one commenter‘s reply to the post.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press