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Bruce Springsteen defended his anti-ICE and anti-Trump political stances ahead of an upcoming “No Kings” rally in St. Paul this weekend.
“You want to try to meet the moment,” Springsteen told The Minnesota Star Tribune Wednesday. “The No Kings movement is of great import right now. When you have the opportunity to sing something where the timing is essential and if you have something powerful to sing, it elevates the moment, it elevates your job to another level. And I’m always in search of that.”
The rally will also help kick off Springsteen’s 20-day “Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour,” which begins March 31 in Minneapolis. The tour follows the release of his latest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” a protest tune that criticizes President Donald Trump and his administration’s deployment of thousands of federal agents to crack down on illegal immigration in the state.
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Springsteen stood by his openly political song despite backlash, quoting friend and fellow musician Tom Morello, saying, “Nuance is wonderful, and sometimes you have to kick them in the teeth.”
“I don’t worry about it. 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,” Springsteen said.
“Those are the rules of my game. That’s fine with me. 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.”
He emphasized the “critical moment” America is facing when asked whether his demonstrations are now “more important than ever.”
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“I don’t know of another time when the country has been as critically challenged and our basic ideas and values as critically challenged as they are right now,” Springsteen said. “I’d have to go back to 1968 when I was 18 years old to another moment when it felt like the country was so on edge and like it felt there was simply so much at stake as far as who we are and the country we want to be and the people we want to be. It’s a critical, critical moment.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Springsteen’s publicist for comment.
Springsteen has been openly disparaging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after the death of Renee Good in January. He even insisted they “get the f— out of Minneapolis” during a concert in the city earlier this year.
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“If you believe in democracy, in liberty, if you believe that truth still matters, that it’s worth speaking out, that it is worth fighting for, if you believe in the power of the law and no one stands above it, if you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading American cities and using Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens, if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president,” Springsteen told a crowd.
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“And as the mayor of that city has said, ‘ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis.'”
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