Fact Check: Did Bruce Springsteen lose his Jeep ad contract after slamming Trump at a concert abroad?

WASHINGTON, DC: Social media nearly blew a gasket earlier this month after a rumor went around claiming rocker Bruce Springsteen was booted from his longtime Jeep endorsement deal for torching President Donald Trump during a concert abroad.

The viral claim came courtesy of the Facebook page America's Last Line of Defense, which posted on May 17.

“He's not 'The Boss' anymore. He's a washed-up leftist who doesn't know when to keep quiet and play guitar,” the post said. “Jeep is parting ways with Bruce Springsteen after his controversial comments on stage in Europe. 'The Jeep name stands for American unity, not divisiveness. It's time for Bruce to move on.' Losing the contract will cost Springsteen $12 million a year."

The post even included a snap of Springsteen behind the wheel of a Jeep. With tens of thousands of reactions and comments, the post had many on social media buying into the scandal.

Fact Check: False

It is true that Springsteen appeared in a two-minute Jeep commercial that was broadcast during the 2021 Super Bowl.

It is also true that Springsteen has gone after Trump countless times, but there is zero evidence that Jeep yanked the plug on any advertising contract. The whole claim was cooked up by a notorious satire page, Snopes confirmed.

The rumor originated with America’s Last Line of Defense, a social media outlet whose bio literally reads, “The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash. Nothing on this page is real.” 

Springsteen, for his part, did go on an anti-Trump tirade during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 14.

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock 'n' roll in dangerous times,” he said. “In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.”

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism, and let freedom ring!” he added.

Trump unleashes on Bruce Springsteen

Predictably, Trump didn’t take kindly to being dragged across the pond.

"I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country," the commander-in-chief posted on Truth Social.

"If I wasn’t elected, it would have been GONE by now! Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is 'dumb as a rock,' and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried-out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just 'standard fare.' Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!" Trump added.

Still, Springsteen repeated the same stinging words nearly verbatim at his next show on May 17.

“In my home, they're persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. That's happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world's poorest children to sickness and death. That's happening now. In my country, they're taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers," he alleged.

Trump subsequently threatened to investigate Springsteen, along with Beyonce, Oprah, and Bono, for their support of Kamala Harris in her 2024 campaign.

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