Bruce Springsteen Endorses Kamala Harris for President

• Oct. 3, 2024, 5:11 p.m. ET

Bruce Springsteen, the rock star and longtime critic of former President Donald J. Trump, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, calling Mr. Trump the “most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”

In a three-minute video published on social media, Mr. Springsteen, 75, spent much of his endorsement attacking Mr. Trump, saying that the former president “doesn’t understand the meaning of this country” and has displayed a “disdain” for America’s democratic system.

Mr. Springsteen, who wore a plaid jacket and sat in a diner in the endorsement video, contrasted Mr. Trump with Ms. Harris, saying that she has a “vision of this country that respects and includes everyone — regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view or sexual identity.”

He added that he believed her platform centered on growing the economy for everyone, and that her approach aligned with “the vision of America I have been consistently writing about for 55 years.”

Mr. Springsteen, the rocker from New Jersey known for songs including “Thunder Road” and “Born in the U.S.A.,” has a sprawling fan base with diverse political views. He is seen as a voice of white working-class America.

But he has also long aligned himself with the Democratic Party and shared a close friendship with former President Barack Obama.

He tempered his endorsement by emphasizing that his opinion was “no more or less important than those of any of my fellow citizens.” But he said the United States was entering one of the “most consequential elections” in its history, describing the country as perhaps the most polarized it has been since the Civil War.

Mr. Springsteen said Mr. Trump’s efforts to hang on to power after losing the 2020 presidential election “should disqualify him” from returning to the presidency.

Ms. Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, once authorized a proclamation in his home state declaring March 5 to be Bruce Springsteen Day there.

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, has suggested he’s not a big fan of Mr. Springsteen.

“I have a bad trait,” Mr. Trump said in August of the musician. “I only like people that like me.”