Bruce Springsteen says Trump is ‘a threat to our democracy’

Artist said he was unsure if US democracy would survive another four years under Trump

Bruce Springsteen has branded US president Donald Trump as “a threat to [our] democracy” and one who “makes any kind of reform that much harder”.

The “Born in the USA” artist attacked Trump for using tear gas against Black Lives Matter protestors, so he could pose for a photo outside St John’s Church in Washington.

“I believe we may have finally reached a presidential tipping point with that Lafayette Square walk,” he told The Atlantic.

He called the moment “so outrageously anti-American, so totally buffoonish and so stupid, and so anti–freedom of speech. And we have a video of it that will live on forever”.

Reflecting on the BLM protests, Springsteen said he had a “flashback” to the civil rights movement in the Sixties.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Springsteen’s song, “American Skin (41 Shots)”, about the police killing of a black man

“I believe that our current president is a threat to our democracy. He simply makes any kind of reform that much harder,” he said, warning of what could happen if Trump is re-elected in November.

“I don’t know if our democracy could stand another four years of his custodianship. These are all existential threats to our democracy and our American way of life.”

Springsteen did, however, say he was optimistic because, “if black people are not visible, that’s not acceptable”.

“I think that’s a sign of progress,” he said. ”When you see the Democratic side of the House filled with brown people and black people, straight people and gay people, and then you look at the Republicans, who appear unchanged by history at this moment? They look ridiculous. And despite their current power, they look like a failing party.”

Springsteen has taken aim at Trump on a number of occasions, and most recently condemned him for failing to wear a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.