When Bruce Springsteen put the Donald Trump administration on blast at a concert in Manchester a few weeks ago, Eric Church was in the crowd. And in a new interview, the country star shared what he really thought of the moment that sparked a social media rampage led by the president against one of the country star’s musical heroes.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in an open-ended interview published Friday (June 6), Church made it clear that he thinks Springsteen — who made headlines for calling the White House “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” at his kickoff Land of Hope & Dreams Tour show in May — has the right “to say and do what he wants.”
“I respect the hell out of somebody having the balls to do something like that,” he told the publication. “If you’re Bruce Springsteen, at 75 years old, if that’s what floats your boat, then you should do that. I was just ready to hear ‘Chimes of Freedom.'”
Regardless of whether you agree with Springsteen’s comments, Church — who in 2011 paid tribute to the New Jersey rocker on Billboard Hot 100 No. 19 hit “Springsteen” — added that he thinks the passion behind the moment only elevated the show itself. “You could tell he wanted to get something off his chest,” said the “Heart on Fire” artist. “It added a little more, whatever that was … angst … and the show was fantastic. Best Springsteen show I’ve seen.”
The topic of the E Street bandleader’s viral speech came up as Church was discussing his thoughts on America’s political landscape, which has been more fraught than ever since Trump returned to office in January. Following the Manchester show, the twice-impeached POTUS ranted on Truth Social that Springsteen was “highly overrated,” “dumb as a rock” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” later lobbing long-debunked accusations that the “Born in the U.S.A.” musician had participated in an “illegal election scam” for Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Americans’ satisfaction with the economy under Trump has been dropping, while many people have been calling out the president’s administration for working to slash funding for programs supporting reproductive healthcare, LGBTQ rights and more. But as the divide between Democrats and Republicans deepens, Church told Rolling Stone that he thinks pledging unconditional allegiance to any one political party is “total bulls–t.”
“I have a problem with the political system where I believe things on both sides, but if I have to pick a party, it means that I can’t believe some of those things,” he told the publication. “If I’m a Republican or I’m a Democrat, I have to be all Republican or all Democrat, and there’s no way those guys and girls believe that. There’s no f–king way.”
Even so, Church doesn’t want to label himself as an “independent. “It sounds like I can’t make up my mind,” he said. “I bristle at that. But if you look at how broad these issues and topics are, I think there’s a small percentage of Americans that truly believe in 100 percent of a party’s platform. Most Americans go back and forth. I change my mind all the damn time.”
The interview comes about a month after the release of Church’s new album, Evangeline vs. the Machine, which debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 in May. The North Carolina native also recently appeared on Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping new album, I’m the Problem, guesting on the song “Number 3 and Number 7,” which entered at No. 52 on the Hot 100 and No. 27 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
