Trump, Springsteen and Jimmy Kimmel spark a fiery New Jersey culture clash that has everyone talking.NH

ngoc huyen4 weeks ago

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Much like George Bailey was to old man Potter, Jimmy Kimmel has been a thorn in President Trump’s side for as long as he can remember.

After the head of the FCC offered a not very well-veiled threat of consequences (“we can do this the easy way or the hard way”), the network executives suspended Kimmel’s show. A week later, he was brought back, and even though some markets still refused to air him, that did little to quell Trump’s anger.

Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Kimmel — Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images/ Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive/ Canva/ TSM Illustrations

Bruce Springsteen blasts Trump on world stage

Another celebrity Trump has no time for is New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen. On the first night of his UK tour earlier this year, he spoke out against Trump from the stage.

“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.”

He was just getting warmed up.

“They are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent,” which has even more meaning months later, of the Kimmel debacle.

He also said the Trump administration was “abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death” and “taking sadistic pleasure in the pain that they inflict on loyal American workers.”

Those were only part of his remarks.

Kimmel and Springsteen set to appear together

So what happens now that it’s been announced this politically active Jersey-bred poet laureate of a blue-collar generation is going to be appearing on October 2 on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after the suspension that created a freedom of speech uproar?

Normally, the fact that Jeremy Allen White is scheduled that night, along with The Boss, would have you think the focus will be on promoting the upcoming biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere.”

But with the suspension fresh in everyone’s mind, I would bet good money the conversation may turn to what a lot of people would like not to hear about. Celebrities giving political opinions.

Springsteen’s political voice goes back to Reagan era

Springsteen wasn’t always doing this. He stuck a toe in the water with his involvement with the “No Nukes” concert in the late 70s. But it wasn’t really until Ronald Reagan came along in the 80s that Springsteen went in this direction, especially when Reagan’s 1984 campaign misunderstood “Born In The U.S.A.” as a patriotic tune.

They began using the anti-Vietnam War song without permission as a campaign song, and Springsteen put a stop to it. After that, he spoke up more frequently.

If this Thursday’s Kimmel show has more than one or two quick lines about Trump, you can bet Truth Social will have something containing all caps from President Trump by 8 a.m. Friday.