GOP insiders won’t admit they’re Springsteen fans over fear they’ll enrage Trump

Bruce Springsteen has been a scathing critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, aggressively supporting Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and attacking Trump's immigration policies in his early 2026 song "Streets of Minneapolis." The veteran rocker, now 76, has a long history of supporting liberal causes, but he has his share of conservative fans who love his music despite disagreeing with his politics. And according to NOTUS' Sam Fortier, some of Republican fans in Washington D.C. are torn between supporting Trump and their appreciation of Springsteen.

"They're talking about it at Georgetown dinner parties, in group chats called 'Bruce Boys' and on sunny days at the Congressional Country Club," Fortier explains in NOTUS. "They're talking about it at Prost's happy hour, in the bleachers at Nationals Park, in security meetings at City Hall and in at least one Republican office in the Senate. Maybe they're talking about it at the White House — how could they not be? — but if you ask the people who work in the West Wing, they get skittish or don't respond."

GOP insiders quoted in Fortier's article indicated that they won't publicly acknowledge being Springsteen fans, as they don't want to risk angering Trump.

One of them said, "I don't think it would be a good look for me personally in my career." And Fortier quotes another as saying, "Can't p–– off Trump."

According to Doug Heye, a GOP consultant and conservative Springsteen fan, Republicans who work in the White House are even afraid of being seen at one of his concerts.

Heye told NOTUS, "We're watching Donald Trump on a revenge tour, and as incredible as it sounds, it is not out of the realm of possibility that somebody could be spotted at this concert and be told they don't need to show up for work on Monday."

Fortier notes that The Boss' current tour is decidedly political and overtly anti-Trump, with chants of "ICE out now!" — a reference to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Minneapolis and other cities.

"While Springsteen has always been political," the NOTUS writer explains, "the 'Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour' — unofficially the 'No Kings Tour' — is his most defiant, most focused and most direct salvo in decades. He starts and ends a three-hour setlist with reborn protest anthems, 'War' and 'Chimes of Freedom,' and though at 76, he's traded his black boots for more comfortable black Hokas, his voice sounds as vivid as ever. ... Republican fans have struggled with the tour since Springsteen announced it in February. For the first time in years, Chris Pack, a veteran Republican strategist, found it difficult to put off his chiding friends with the regular refrain about compartmentalizing the politics and appreciating the music."

Pack, according to Fortier, bought three tickets to a Springsteen concert in Cleveland but ended up selling them because of The Boss' anti-Trump politics.

But Heye isn't hesitating to attend Springsteen's concerts, telling NOTUS, "I can pump my fist to 'Badlands' and not have a concern in the world. If putting on the red hat means you need to be nervous about going to rock concerts, then there are probably other issues at hand."