Bruce Springsteen's Former Drummer Pushes Back on Singer's Attacks on Donald Trump: 'Got to Have Respect' 

Original E Street Band drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez has publicly pushed back against Bruce Springsteen’s vocal criticism of President Donald Trump, urging him to show more respect for the office of the presidency, stating, "Trump is the president of the United States — everyone should have respect for him.”

During his latest Land of Hope and Dreams tour, Springsteen has repeatedly denounced the Trump administration from the stage, calling it "corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous." He also debuted an anti-ICE song titled "Streets of Minneapolis.”

In an interview with The New York Post, Lopez criticized the "extreme" nature of modern political division. While he acknowledged Springsteen's right to free speech, he emphasized that his own, much lesser-known band, The Wonderful Winos, avoids political commentary to avoid alienating audiences.

"He is the president of the United States. And if I was standing there talking to him, I would have mucho respect for the man," Lopez added, noting that he "wouldn’t talk to him about anything that’s going on" in politics.

Lopez noted that he previously met Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., where Trump reportedly asked him to tell Springsteen that he was "his biggest fan.”

Despite their differing views, Lopez clarified that he and the "Born in the USA" singer remain on "perfect" terms and still keep in touch, adding that he is “not against what Bruce is saying” about Trump.

Trump has responded to Springsteen’s condemnation of him by calling him a "dried-up prune" and a "bad and very boring singer" on Truth Social, while also calling for a boycott of his "overpriced" concerts.

This exchange is part of a long-standing public friction between the two that intensified following the launch of Springsteen's 2026 tour in Minneapolis.

"Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried-up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS," the president wrote in a Truth Social post in early April.

Springsteen has been a vocal critic of the POTUS, accusing him of being a threat to democracy, lacking morality and engaging in "Gestapo tactics" regarding immigration.

He described the administration as "reckless, unpredictable, predatory, [and] a rogue nation," and has called Trump "treasonous."

“Democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American promise, the America that I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years, that’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration,” he said from the stage in April.

In 2020, he stated, "I believe that our current president is a threat to our democracy ... I don't know if our democracy could stand another four years of his custodianship.”

Springsteen has maintained he is not worried about losing fans over his political stances.

During his latest tour, The Boss claimed that speaking out and facing blowback is "just part of it" and that he is "ready for all that.”