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Bruce Springsteen’s former drummer pushes back on the Boss’s political attacks on Trump: ‘Gotta have respect’
Bruce Springsteen’s former drummer Vini Lopez is speaking out against the Boss for slamming President Donald Trump while on his Land of Hope and Dreams Tour.
Since kicking off the tour in Minneapolis on March 31, Springsteen, 76, has repeatedly unleashed blistering attacks on Trump during his shows, blasting the administration as “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous” and mocking the 79-year-old as a “president who can’t handle the truth” among other insults.
During a recent interview with the California Post, Lopez, 77, who was Springsteen’s original E Street Band drummer, pushed back against the singer for criticizing Trump while on tour.
“You gotta have respect for the president,” Lopez said.
“Trump is the president of the United States — everyone should have respect for him,” he continued.
“He is the president of the United States. And if I was standing there talking to him, I would have mucho respect for the man,” Lopez added, noting that he “wouldn’t talk to him about anything that’s going on” in politics.
In 1969, Lopez, Springsteen and fellow musicians Vinnie Roslin and Danny Federici founded the band Child, which would later become known as Steel Mill. The band performed together until 1971 after which Springsteen formed the E Street Band with Lopez included in the original lineup.
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Lopez played with on Springsteen’s first two studio albums “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” and “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle” before leaving the band in 1974.
While speaking of the reason for his departure from the E Street Band, Lopez told that California Post that he was “too jazzy for what [Springsteen] wanted to do.”
However, Lopez reunited with Springsteen for performances several times since his exit. In April 2014, Lopez was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band and played with the group and Springsteen at the induction ceremony.
In September 2016, he performed with Springsteen and the E Street Band in Philadelphia during a guest appearance on their River Tour.
Lopez is currently performing with his group the Wonderful Winos and told the California Post that their shows were unlike those of Springsteen, who previously declared the Land of Hopes and Dreams tour would be “political and very topical about what’s going on in the country.”
“My band, whatever we think, we don’t go there in our music,” he said.
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Lopez said he doesn’t consider himself strongly ideological, though he acknowledged voting Republican in races ranging from local City Council to Congress.
Along with his music career, Lopez also worked as a golf caddy for many years. He said that he once met Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., before he became president.
Lopez said that he was aware of Trump’s conservative politics and shook his hand.
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“He was very nice to me,” Lopez recalled.
“He was very inquisitive and introduced me to Melania,” he added, referring to Trump’s wife, First Lady Melania Trump.
As he was heading out that day, Lopez recalled Trump pulled him aside and asked for a “big favor.”
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Lopez recalled that Trump then told him “‘Tell Bruce I’m his biggest fan.'”
Meanwhile, Trump recently called on his supporters to boycott Springsteen’s “overpriced” new tour.
“Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this month.
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He continued, “The guy is a total loser who spews hate against a President who won a Landslide Election, including the popular vote, all Seven Swing States, and 86% of the Counties across America.”
Trump further claimed that under former President Joe Biden and Democrats, “our Country was DEAD, and now we have the ‘hottest’ Country, by far, anywhere in the World. MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”
While speaking with California Post, Lopez that he is “not against what Bruce is saying” and supports the 20-time Grammy Award winner’s right to speak out.
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However, Lopez shared his view that politics shouldn’t divide Americans.
“Maybe when I was 20, I was a little more extreme, but I’m 77 now, so the extremities are gone,” he said. “It’s so divided, the political part. It’s a tough one on me.”
Lopez told the outlet that he remains optimistic about Trump’s policies.
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“I would love to see something good come out,” he said.
Lopez also made it clear that there had been no personal falling out with Springsteen, saying that they are on “perfect” terms and occasionally keep in touch.
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“If he wants me to do something, he’ll call me,” Lopez said.
“Sometimes it’s just because he hasn’t seen me for a while. And he’ll call me and say. ‘Hey, come around here,’” he continued. “And most of the time it’s terrible when I call him because it’s when one of our crew died and he doesn’t know that. That’s happening more and more.”
While Lopez told the outlet that he doesn’t plan on attending any of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s concerts during their Land of Hope and Dreams tour, he said he went to one of their shows in Philadelphia a few years ago. However, he noted that he didn’t interact with Springsteen.
“I don’t even think he knew I was there,” the drummer said. “I was sitting over in the corner.”
Heidi Klum loves a theme.
The supermodel looked barely recognizable as she frolicked around the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival over the weekend in Indio, Calif.
Klum, 52, smiled widely as she raised arms while walking the grounds at the Empire Polo Field wearing a jet black wig with mirrored sunglasses over her eyes.
“Coachella day 2 ‘Techno Hexen,'” the “Germany’s Next Topmodel” host wrote with a social media clip shared Saturday.
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Klum sported a sheer white gown with layers of fabric cascading down her chest and tucked into the back of a lacy pair of bottoms.
She slung a black leather bag across her shoulder and trekked through the dusty venue wearing fishnets with black-and-white leather cowboy boots.
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The mother-of-four made an equally impressive fashion statement the night before to kick off the festival.
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Dressed in a white cut-out bodysuit with oversized jeans and a white beanie to match, Klum danced to a Disclosure song on social media before catching the DJ’s closing set on the Outdoor stage.
The Victoria’s Secret angel was in good company throughout the star-studded weekend.
Katy Perry and boyfriend Justin Trudeau are quite literally heating things up in the desert.
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In a series of photos posted on the pop star’s Instagram, Perry and Trudeau put their budding romance on full display at Coachella.
In one snapshot, the duo walked hand-in-hand throughout the fairgrounds, and in another, Perry cozied up to Trudeau as the pair enjoyed a snack break.
They later caught Justin Bieber‘s return after a years-long hiatus.
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The 32-year-old singer — who was reportedly paid $10 million for his return — took the stage for a headlining performance, only to be met with a wave of criticism from online trolls.
For the first half of the set, Bieber focused on his latest tracks from “Swag” and “Swag ll” before diving into a YouTube-heavy track list.
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“Tonight is such a special night,” Bieber told the crowd while sitting on a stool behind a table that held his laptop. “I feel like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey. Do you guys remember this song?”
Bieber played hit songs like “Baby,” “Never Say Never” and “Beauty and the Beat” on YouTube, while singing along to the music videos playing in the background.
At one point, Katy Perry poked fun at the moments in between YouTube searches. “Thank God he has Premium,” the Grammy nominee, 41, said in a video posted to her Instagram. “I don’t want to see no ads.”
Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.
Iran could retaliate against a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by directing its Houthi allies to disrupt another critical global shipping route, a senior Middle East analyst warned Sunday.
The Bab al-Mandeb — a narrow chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden — carries roughly 12% of global oil shipments and serves as a vital trade corridor between Asia and Europe, making it a strategic target for escalation that could further strain global energy markets.
“If the U.S. proceeds with its plan to blockade the strait, Iran’s escalation strategy could dictate that it ensures Gulf countries can’t export, either,” Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser at the Middle East Program, told Fox News Digital.
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“This could translate to further attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure or even deploying the Houthis to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb,” Yacoubian added.
Yacoubian’s remarks came after Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser on international affairs to Iran’s Supreme Leader, signaled Tehran’s view of the Bab al-Mandeb in light of potential U.S. action to block the Strait of Hormuz.
“Today, the unified command of the Resistance front views Bab al-Mandeb as it does Hormuz,” he said in a post on X.
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“If the White House dares to repeat its foolish mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single move.”
U.S. Central Command released a statement Sunday saying the naval blockade would begin Monday and be “enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.”
President Donald Trump also said the U.S. Navy would block “any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz” in a post on Truth Social.
In March, the U.S. warned ships at the Red Sea chokepoint of Houthi attacks
“The Houthis continue to pose a threat to U.S. assets, including commercial vessels, in this region,” a maritime advisory said of the Iran-backed armed group that controls much of northern Yemen.
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“Potential hostile actions include one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks; unmanned surface vehicle (USV) attacks; unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) attacks; ballistic and cruise missile attacks; small arms fire from small boats; explosive boat attacks; and illegal boardings, detentions, and/or seizures,” it said.
“U.S.-flagged commercial vessels operating in these areas are strongly advised to turn off their AIS transponders,” the advisory stated.
Yacoubian also determined in a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report that Iran was threatening to expand the conflict further to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb compounding global market disruptions.
“It could leverage the Houthis, its Yemeni proxy, to once again wage attacks on the strategic waterway, depriving Saudi Arabia of its key workaround for oil shipments given the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz,” she added.
The Houthis joined Iran’s war against the U.S. and Israel on March 28 when the organization launched two ballistic missiles at southern Israel. Both were intercepted.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., did not answer on Sunday whether he believes Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., should resign from Congress after recent allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I do want to ask about allegations against one of your fellow Democrats, Eric Swalwell, allegations of rape and sexual misconduct,” CNN’s Dana Bash said on “State of the Union.” “He denies these allegations as false, says they never happened. You were a leader in your party. Do you think he should resign from Congress or face expulsion?”
“You know, Dana, I have seen the reports,” Warner said. “I think I‘ve met Mr. Swalwell once or twice. I want to hear his side of the story, but obviously, if any of these allegations are true, he should no longer be a candidate for governor. But again, I don‘t know any of the facts. And I‘m a little old-fashioned. I feel like I ought to hear the facts before I start weighing in.”
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Warner did not elaborate on whether he believed that Swalwell should resign from his congressional seat if allegations were proven true. Bash did not follow up with Warner after his response.
Fox News Digital reached out to Warner’s office for comment.
Swalwell was accused by a former staffer of sexual assault while she was intoxicated. The San Francisco Chronicle first broke the story of the anonymous ex-staffer, and three additional women have since spoken to CNN with allegations of misconduct.
Swalwell is a candidate for governor of California but has since faced calls to drop out, including from within his own party. He has pledged to fight the allegations against him.
“A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations, and I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat-out false,” Swalwell said in a video posted Friday.
“They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.”
Some Democratic candidates have begun calling on Swalwell to also resign from Congress, including Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman, New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and California Reps. Ro Khanna and Jared Huffman.
Fellow gubernatorial candidates Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Tony Thurmond have also called on Swalwell to resign.
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