Bruce Springsteen releases a powerful new song about the Minneapolis ICE killings — and the name he gives Trump’s forces has the president fuming

Bruce Springsteen released a new song called Streets of Minneapolis. The song is a direct response to the recent deaths of two people who were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. The rock star dedicated the track to the victims, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and to the city’s immigrant community.

Springsteen worked fast to get the song out. According to The Guardian, he wrote it on a Saturday, recorded it the next day, and released it right away. In his announcement, he said he created the song in response to “the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis.”

The lyrics are harsh and direct. Springsteen sings about “a city aflame fought fire and ice ‘neath an occupier’s boots” and calls the immigration agents “King Trump’s private army from the DHS.” He also sings about the victims: “There were bloody footprints / Where mercy should have stood / And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets / Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

Trump’s response shows how much the song hit a nerve

President Trump responded to the song with strong criticism. He called Springsteen “highly overrated,” “not a talented guy,” and a “pushy, obnoxious jerk.” The president’s harsh words show how much the song bothered him. This is not the first time Springsteen has criticized Trump. He has been speaking out against the president since before the 2016 election. 

Earlier this month at a concert, he condemned what he called “Gestapo tactics” related to increased immigration enforcement. He told the crowd that the country’s founding principles “have never been as endangered as they are right now.”

In October 2016, Springsteen told a London audience that “It’s a terrible thing that’s happening in the States. He’s undermining the entire democratic tradition.” At a show in the United Kingdom in May, he criticized the administration’s actions, saying “In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”

Springsteen has honored the Minneapolis victims before. At a recent show in New Jersey, he dedicated his 1978 song “The Promised Land” to Renee Good, the 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot by an ICE officer. For Springsteen, this is clearly about more than just politics; it’s about responding to what he sees as human tragedy and failed justice. In other celebrity news, Emma Heming Willis’ confession about Bruce’s care has sparked debate about family caregiving challenges.

The singer also accused the administration of “rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society” and siding “with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.” He sees these issues as part of a larger pattern, not just single events. Meanwhile, Demi Moore’s praise for Bruce Willis’ wife highlights the dedication required in similar caregiving situations.