BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FEARS DONALD TRUMP LACKS THE COMPETENCY TO GOVERN

Bruce Springsteen revealed his fears regarding the soon-to-be Donald Trump presidency. "The Boss" appeared on comedian Marc Maron's WTF podcast and spoke frankly about the issues that he sees Americans having to endure under the new administration. Vintage Vinyl News reported Springsteen saying, "I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now. It's as simple as the fear of, is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job. Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?" He added "(People have been) affected deeply by de-industrialisation and globalisation and the technological advances and you have been left behind, and someone comes along and says, 'I'm gonna bring the jobs back.' These are very powerful and simple ideas. They're lies, they can't occur. But if you've struggled for the past 30 or 40 years -- and this has been the theme of much of my creative life for all those years -- if someone comes along and offers you something else. . . it's a compelling choice."

• Springsteen went on to say that he believes the platforms that Trump campaigned on will bring out the worst in society, explaining, "When you let that genie out of the bottle -- bigotry, racism, intolerance. . . they don't go back in the bottle that easily if they go back in at all. Whether it's a rise in hate crimes, people feeling they have license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-American and are un-American. That's what he's appealing to. My fears are that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society."
  
• Back in September, Bruce Springsteen appeared on Northern Europe's Skavlan and broke down what he believes Donald Trump stands for, why his message appeals to a faction of Americans, and ultimately why he thinks Trump is definitely the wrong choice for President: "He comes along and he has a very sim. . . he has a simple answer to all these very, very complex problems. And he's telling people -- some of the people -- things that they want to hear. If you're very uncomfortable by the browning of America: 'Well, we're gonna build a wall and keep all those people out.' This is basically his campaign, saying it like I'm saying it here. But if you struggle and if you've suffered, and you haven't gotten that piece of the pie -- or, you're just struggling to keep you family going; it can be. . . Someone sayin' it, is a very, very compelling argument. It's very difficult to deal with the complexities of governance and have someone to tell you to 'wait,' or 'be patient.' It's just a rich environment for -- unfortunately -- for a demagogue. And the absurdity is, is, is beyond cartoon-like, y'know? But, he's gotten close enough so it can make you nervous. Y'know, I don't think he's gonna win -- but even him running is a great embarrassment (laughs) if you're an American, y'know?"