Longtime Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain said rock icon Bruce Springsteen should keep his politics out of his act.
“Guys like Bruce Springsteen should shut up, you know,” Cain, an outspoken conservative, told The Complete Disaster Network podcast. “Honestly, shut up, Bruce.”
Springsteen has been politically active for decades, and just finished a tour put together in response to President Donald Trump’s second term in office. During the shows, Springsteen called out Trump’s “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration.”
“Bruce, I mean, what the heck? I used to like him, and now he’s just annoying,” he told the podcast. “He’s an annoying, bitter old man. I mean, stop it.”
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Cain is a Trump supporter, and his wife, Paula White-Cain, is a senior adviser in the White House Faith Office who is often seen with the president. Cain performed at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, and Cain and several other members of Journey visited Trump at the White House in 2017.
But Cain said that’s different from what Springsteen does because he keeps his politics out of his shows.
“Now, people say, ‘Well, you’re Christian, and you’re conservative,’” Cain said. “And I’m like, ‘So what?’ I don’t preach it on stage. I don’t spend 10 minutes talking about it.”
The interview was posted in May, but is getting new attention after being featured on Blabbermouth and Ultimate Classic Rock over the weekend.
During the interview, Cain also slammed Springsteen over one of his biggest hits.
“You know, you were ‘Born in the USA,’ weren’t you, dude? So act like it,” he said. “But even that song, if you look at the lyrics, I mean, it’s a kind of a diss to our country.”
The song deals with the mistreatment of Vietnam veterans after they returned home from the war. However, it’s often misunderstood to be a jingoistic anthem and politicians, including Trump, have routinely played it at rallies and other events.
Springsteen’s criticisms have gotten under Trump’s skin.
He’s repeatedly flipped out at the rock legend on social media, calling him “a pushy, obnoxious JERK” and “dried out ‘prune,’” among other things, and ― like Cain ― saying Springsteen should “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT.”