Bruce Springsteen Is a Democratic Icon in His New Podcast With Barack Obama

It can be tricky to wade into politics if you're a beloved musician. Alienating part of your fanbase can ultimately lead to backlash and reduced album sales. Some artists choose to refrain from discussing politics as a result, while others wear their political opinions on their sleeves. Bruce Springsteen, who has been a major artist for nearly 50 years, definitely falls into the second category. 

Following his performance at Joe Biden's inauguration celebration and his recent appearance in a Jeep Super Bowl commercial, some are wondering whether Bruce Springsteen is a Democrat. As it turns out, the legendary performer has been a Democrat for years, and he hasn't exactly been afraid to wade into politics when he thinks it's important to do so. 

Prior to the 2020 election, Bruce said plenty of kind words about Joe Biden in explaining why he supported him and plenty of disparaging things about Donald Trump. In responding to the Republican National Convention, which was held in the summer of 2020, Bruce said that it was "just seeded with constant lies and total distortion of the American idea." 

"It's heartbreaking and terrible," Bruce said of the Trump administration during an interview with Rolling Stone. "The first thing is to get the Trump administration out of office and start again." 

Although Bruce was clear about his support for Biden after the primary election, he also said that he liked other members of the Democratic primary field before Biden became the clear nominee. 

"I like Bernie Sanders a lot," he said. "I don't know if he was my main choice, my first choice. I like Elizabeth Warren, I like Bernie."

Bruce has advocated for some fairly radical shifts in the country's political order toward the left. Even as he advocates for this revolution in the political order, though, Bruce also acknowledged that he believed Biden would help to re-establish fundamental American ideas that had been lost during Trump's administration. 

"The power of the American idea has been abandoned," he said. "It's a terrible shame, and we need somebody who can bring that to life again... I think if we get Joe Biden, it's gonna go a long way towards helping us regain our status around the world. The country as the shining light of democracy has been trashed by the administration. We abandoned friends, we befriended dictators, we denied climate science." 

Bruce's interview with Rolling Stone is just one example of his frequent political statements. Throughout his long career in the spotlight, Bruce has never been afraid to get political when he feels it's necessary. His song "Born in the U.S.A." is frequently thought of as a patriotic tune but it was actually meant as a criticism of America's overtly nationalistic tendencies. 

The fact that some people view the song and Bruce's overall image as fundamentally blue-collar has led to confusion over his political persuasions. As Bruce has made clear on numerous occasions, though, he is a pretty die-hard Democrat. 

If anything further solidifies Bruce's stance as a Democratic icon, it's working with one of the most famous Democrats in modern history. According to The New York Times, he and former President Obama, a close personal friend, are hosting a joint podcast titled The Renegades: Born In The USA. 

Within this program, they broadcast provoking conversations the two of them shared at Bruce's New Jersey studio spanning a variety of topics regarding hard-working Americans and their lives.

The first two episodes of the podcast were released on Feb. 22, 2021, on Spotify, and already the show has garnered quite a bit of fanfare, thanks to its unique concept and execution. Released as a part of the Obama family's landmark deal with the company to produce original content for their streaming service, it's the former president's answer to his wife Michelle's already highly successful podcast, The Michelle Obama Podcast, also streaming on the same platform.