The singer shared his definition of “patriot” during his recent PBS special, “Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song.”

Bruce Springsteen explains why he calls himself a ‘patriot’ for speaking out against Donald Trump

The singer shared his definition of “patriot” during his recent PBS special, “Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song.”

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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July 6, 2026 2:18 p.m. ET

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Bruce Springsteen; Donald Trump. Credit:

Gareth Cattermole/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty

- Bruce Springsteen shares his perspective on what it means to be a patriot and how that includes going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump.

- The 76-year-old rocker shared his thoughts during his recent PBS special, *Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song*, which aired on the network Friday.

- “I believe in critical patriotism,” Springsteen shared. “I believe that’s the definition of a patriot.”

Bruce Springsteen isn’t afraid to publicly air his grievances against the U.S. government; in fact, he believes it’s his civic duty as a patriot.

The 76-year-old rocker opened up about his perspective during his recent PBS special, *Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song*, which aired on the network Friday.

“I believe in critical patriotism,” Springsteen shared. “I believe that’s the definition of a patriot, you know, that you love your country so much that you are willing to look at it clearly, recognize its faults, encourage it to be a better place, and believe that you carry in your heart the country that is waiting.”

It’s not a surprising point of view from the singer, who has written politically driven music for decades and has made headlines for being heavily critical of President Donald Trump since he was first elected to office in 2016. During the most recent presidential election, Springsteen endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, calling Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform at Decathlon Arena on May 24, 2025.

Sébastien Courdji/Getty

Their spat was renewed with Trump’s second term, with the “Dancing in the Dark” singer dubbing the current administration as “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous“ during the opening night of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour in Manchester last May.

Springsteen kicked off the tour in Minneapolis with a series of speeches eviscerating the president and his administration. At one point he also told the crowd, “You want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who can’t handle the truth.”

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us,” Springsteen told his crowd at the time. “Raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”

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The president fired back at the musician a day later on Truth Social, calling him a “dried-out ‘prune’ of a rocker” and stating that he “never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics.”

“The guy is a total loser who spews hate against a president who won a landslide election, including the popular vote, all seven swing states, and 86 percent of the counties across America,” the post continued. “Under Sleepy Joe and the Dems, our Country was DEAD, and now we have the ‘hottest’ country, by far, anywhere in the world.”

Bruce Springsteen performs at the AFI Fest 2025 on Oct. 22, 2025.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

While Trump has urged his base to take a stand against Springsteen, even calling for a boycott of his shows at the time, the singer has made it clear that he isn’t concerned about any backlash over his anti-Trump remarks.

“I don’t worry about it,” Springsteen previously told *The Minnesota Star Tribune*. “My job is very simple: I do what I want to do, I say what I want to say, and then people get to say what they want to say about it. Those are the rules of my game. That’s fine with me.”

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He added, “I don’t worry about if you’re going to lose this part of your audience. I’ve always had a feeling about the position we play culturally, and I’m still deeply committed to that idea of the band. The blowback is just part of it. I’m ready for all that.”

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