Bruce Springsteen’s new protest anthem has reignited his long-running spar with Donald Trump, with the White House dismissing it as out of touch and politically charged.
Bruce Springsteen dropped a fiery new single this week titled “Streets of Minneapolis”, a raw, urgently written song responding to recent federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis that resulted in multiple fatalities. The song – penned, recorded, and released by the rock legend in a matter of days – directly addresses US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Trump administration, and senior officials like DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Stephen Miller.
Per Variety, Springsteen said the song was inspired by the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, two civilians killed in confrontations between protesters and federal agents. The lyrics paint a stark portrait of a city in turmoil and lament the loss of life while amplifying calls for justice and solidarity – chanting lines that echo across the song, including “ICE out of Minneapolis”.
The response from the White House was certainly swift and blunt. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson issued a statement about it, in which she labelled the song “random” and full of “irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information”.
“The Trump Administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement officers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities – not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information,” the statement read.
“The media should cover how Democrats have refused to work with the Administration, and instead, opted to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegals.”
Springsteen also released a striking lyric video alongside the song, juxtaposing his performance with imagery from clashes between enforcement officers and demonstrators.
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Springsteen has been very vocal about his feelings towards the Trump administration, most recently dedicating “The Promised Land” to the memory of Renée Good during a mid-January performance in New Jersey and decrying the “Gestapo tactics” that he said have resulted in a climate where citizens can be “murdered for exercising your American right to protest”.
The title of “Streets of Minneapolis” is an echo of his 1994 Oscar-winning song “Streets of Philadelphia”, from the soundtrack to Philadelphia. He’s written many other topical songs throughout his career, including “American Skin (41 Shots)”, “We Take Care of Our Own”, and “Living in the Future”, but he’s never responded to a news event this quickly.
