Commentary by Stephen Macaulay
Back in March 2003 on a concert stage in London, lead singer Natalie Maines said to the audience: “Just so you know, we do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
Maines was referring to the impending US invasion of Iraq. The president in question was George W. Bush.
And with that statement Maines pretty much put a stake through the heart of the Dixie Chicks’ career among the country crowd.
In 2006 they released an album titled Taking the Long Way that includes a track, “Not Ready to Make Nice,” which took on the controversy. The album was to win five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.
(No, the band didn’t drop the “Dixie” from its name in order to, perhaps, disguise themselves from the controversy. The name change didn’t occur until 2020.)
Last week while on stage in Manchester, England, Bruce Springsteen, during his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour, said to the audience:
“In my home, 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.”
Odds are anyone who was a Springsteen fan is not going to have the reaction that some Dixie Chicks fans had over two decades ago.
But then there was one reaction that on the one hand should have been anticipated but, on the other, really is quite pathetic.
Donald Trump posted on his social site (which I won’t name because while it is social, it certainly doesn’t carry much in the way of veracity):
“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country. If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is “dumb as a rock,” and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out “prune” of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just “standard fare.” Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Odds are the fact that Trump doesn’t like his music doesn’t concern Springsteen. As for the “not a talented guy,” well, as Springsteen has sold over 150 million records, reality seems to be in disagreement.
As for the “This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!),” Mr. Trump ought to look in a mirror before criticizing the skin-care regime of anyone else, especially someone who is three years younger than he is.
The pathetic part about this is the fact that the President of the United States is thin-skinned enough such that he has to react to Springsteen’s comments.
Shouldn’t Trump be bigger than that?
And while I am unaware of any cognitive tests that Springsteen may have taken (and we “know” that Trump has, as he noted after his recent physical, "I took a cognitive test. And I don't know what to tell you, other than I got every answer right”) is it really Leader of the Free World-worthy to call someone “dumb as a rock”? Isn’t that elementary school-caliber trash talk?
But perhaps there is method to this malarky.
This takes away attention from issues like Walmart CEO Doug McMillon saying last week: "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels, we cannot absorb all the pressure.”
Yes, let’s not forget the destructive tariff regime that the Trump Administration has in place.
Although the tariffs imposed on China has been reduced from a completely absurd 145% to 30%, think about that for a moment: This is a 30% tax that the American public is going to pay on things that companies like Walmart sell, such as electronics and toys. Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said prices are going to be noticeably increased by the end of the month and especially in June.
While Trump supporters may like the attack on Springsteen (although given that he wrote the lyric “I’m a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. now” they may experience a bit of cognitive dissonance), they are not going to like the prices of essentially everything going up, at Walmart or anywhere else.
Odds are we are going to be seeing more, not fewer, bizarre rants from the President of the United States.
Macaulay, pundit-at-large for The Hustings, is also a contributor to the online music publication, Glorious Noise.