
‘Corrupt, incompetent, treasonous': Springsteen rips Trump administration in Berlin over LA troop deployment
BERLIN, June 12 — Singer Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday sharply attacked United States (US) President Donald Trump's administration for sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles (LA), German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
Springsteen called the government 'corrupt, incompetent and treasonous' during a concert in Berlin.
'The America that I love. The America that I wrote to you 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,' the singer, known as 'The Boss,' told his audience of tens of thousands of fans in the city's Olympic Stadium.
He said the Trump administration is sending the US military to the streets of LA based on a false premise of a foreign invasion.
People have been demonstrating in the metropolis for days, protesting Trump's hard-line migration policies and deportation raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
In response, the US government mobilised 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines from the regular armed forces for deployment in LA, against the will of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
During the first German concert of his European tour, Springsteen repeatedly returned to the themes of democracy and freedom.
The musician, who released the Grammy-award winning album Born in the U.S.A. 41 years ago, spoke for several minutes between songs to cheering fans about the United States. — Bernama-dpa
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Judge blocks Trump's use of national guard in protest-hit Los Angeles
US national guard soldiers assemble during deployment for duty for the Los Angeles protests. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : The Trump administration slammed a judge's 'extraordinary intrusion' on presidential powers Thursday, after he ruled that the decision to send the California national guard to protest-hit Los Angeles was 'illegal.' The ruling by US district judge Charles Breyer ordering Donald Trump to return control of the reserve force to California's governor Gavin Newsom infringes on the president's authority as commander-in-chief, the department of justice said in an emergency appeal. Breyer stayed his order until Friday, however, giving the administration time to launch a swift appeal. Within minutes the higher court issued its own ruling staying Breyer's order for several more days to give it time to consider the appeal, with a hearing set for June 17. The stay means Trump would still control the national guard in California during protests planned for Saturday. Sporadic though spectacular violence has rocked Los Angeles over days of demonstrations against immigration raids launched by the Trump administration. But the clashes fell 'far short' of the 'rebellion' the president described to justify his decision to send in the national guard, Breyer said in a 36-page opinion released earlier Thursday. Trump's actions 'were illegal … He must therefore return control' of the guardsmen to Newsom, Breyer said. 'That order is an extraordinary intrusion on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief,' the justice department wrote in the appeal. Newsom, however, was quick to celebrate Breyer's order, potentially a much-needed win in just one of several fronts that wealthy, Democratic California is currently fighting against the White House. Trump 'is not a monarch, he is not a king, and he should stop acting like one,' the 57-year-old Democrat said. Protests over the immigration crackdown first began in Los Angeles on Friday, and were largely confined to just a few blocks of the sprawling city. Damages include vandalism, looting, clashes with law enforcement and several torched driverless taxis. Trump, who has repeatedly exaggerated the scale of the unrest, deployed 4,000 national guard troops and 700 US marines to Los Angeles despite the objections of local officials, claiming that the city was 'burning' and they had lost control. It was the first time since 1965 that a US president deployed the national guard over the wishes of a state's governor. Critics have accused Trump of a power grab. Anger at Trump's crackdown and the use of masked, armed immigration agents, backed by uniformed soldiers, is rousing protests in other cities, though Los Angeles was calm on Thursday night. The ruling came after California's stand-off with the administration ratcheted up earlier Thursday, when a sitting US senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a press conference on the immigration raids. The shocking incident was slammed by furious Democrats who said it 'reeks of totalitarianism.' Video footage shows California senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, being pushed from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem about the raids. 'I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP. Footage filmed by Padilla's staff outside the room shows the senator being pushed to the ground and handcuffed. The incident 'reeks of totalitarianism,' Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said, calling for an investigation. The White House hit back, claiming it was a 'theater-kid stunt' and claiming without evidence that Padilla 'lunged toward secretary Noem.' Trump was elected last year after promising to launch historic mass deportations. But with his mounting crackdown rippling through industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor, Trump said he had heard employers' complaints and hinted at a forthcoming policy shift. 'We're going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think,' he said. Breyer's ruling comes two days ahead of the nationwide 'No Kings' protests expected on Saturday, the same day Trump attends a highly unusual military parade in the US capital. The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organised to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US army but also happens to be on the day of Trump's 79th birthday.


Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Los Angeles ICE raids fuel controversy over masked agents
Violent clashes erupted in Los Angeles after masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers rounded up alleged offenders. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : Images of federal immigration agents wearing masks and balaclavas as they conduct raids in Los Angeles and other US cities have ignited a politically charged debate over whether they are protecting their identities or engaging in intimidation tactics. Violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Los Angeles during the weekend were triggered by masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers rounding up alleged immigration offenders. Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups say masks are an attempt by ICE agents to escape accountability for their actions and are aimed at frightening immigrants as they carry out Republican President Donald Trump's directive to crack down on illegal immigration. Republicans and ICE officials assert the face coverings are necessary to protect agents and their families from being targeted by 'doxxing,' in which their home addresses and personal information are posted online. 'People are out there taking photos of the names, their faces, and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves,' Todd Lyons, the acting ICE chief, said last week. There are no federal rules or laws forbidding mask-wearing by law enforcement personnel, although historically they have been used to protect the identities of agents during undercover operations, said Jerry Robinette, a former ICE special agent in charge. Armed masked ICE agents have also been seen arresting people in cities besides Los Angeles, often in plain clothes that sometimes lack clear identifying markings. One of the most notable arrests by ICE officials came in March when Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk was confronted by several masked, plain-clothed agents on a street in a Boston suburb. Her arrest and terrified reaction were captured in a video that went viral. Ozturk, arrested after co-writing an opinion piece criticising her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza, was released from ICE detention in May after a judge's order. Masked ICE agents have been filmed arresting workers at a restaurant in San Diego and a gardener at a house in Massachusetts. ICE officers were prominently seen wearing masks during arrests at courthouses across the U.S. last month. Increased mask use in Trump's second term Scott Shuchart, a top ICE policy official under former Democratic President Joe Biden, said it appeared ICE officers had increased the use of face coverings and tactical gear since Trump took office. Shuchart said an officer concealing their identity goes against typical American law enforcement practices. 'In general, law enforcement personnel need to have name patches, badge numbers, or other indicia that the public can see and use to file complaints and ensure accountability and oversight,' Shuchart said. Three former US officials dealing with immigration enforcement, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they did not recall ICE officers routinely using face masks while Biden was in office from 2021-2025. Mask-wearing by law enforcement agents is more common in countries such as Mexico and Russia with high levels of organised crime or political unrest, or during counter-terrorism operations in countries including France. Boston's Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu was criticised by the Trump administration last week when she compared masked ICE agents to the 'secret police' and a neo-Nazi group. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the department of homeland security, the parent agency of ICE, called Wu's rhetoric dangerous. 'Make no mistake, this type of rhetoric is contributing to the surge in assaults of ICE officers through their repeated vilification and demonization of ICE,' McLaughlin said. Doxxing Trump's border czar Tom Homan, speaking to Reuters in May, defended ICE officers using face coverings. 'They've been doxxed repeatedly,' Homan said. 'I should know because I've been doxxed a thousand times myself.' Homan cited an April protest outside his home in upstate New York after ICE arrested a mother and her three children on a dairy farm. The debate over ICE masks has also erupted on Capitol Hill. Last week the Democrats' house of representatives leader, Hakeem Jeffries, denounced the practice, saying ICE agents were trying to conceal their identities from the American people. Jeffries and others believe unidentifiable law enforcement officials are difficult to hold accountable when misconduct is alleged. He vowed that the masked ICE agents would be identified 'no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes.' His comments were decried by his Republican counterpart, House speaker Mike Johnson. 'They need to back off of ICE and respect our agents and stop protesting against them,' Johnson told Fox News.


Free Malaysia Today
9 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Germany plans extra €1.9bil in military aid to Kyiv
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the two countries would jointly develop 'long-range weapons systems'. (AP pic) KYIV : Germany's defence minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday the government in Berlin was planning another tranche of military aid for Kyiv this year, as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine. Germany was set to approve another €1.9 billion of military support for Ukraine, Pistorius said in a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. The new aid package 'hasn't been finalised yet, but it is being lined up', he said, adding that the funds would be available 'in the coming weeks and months once the decision has been made in parliament'. The extra money would bring Germany's total support for Ukraine to around nine billion euros this year, Pistorius said. Berlin had already earmarked some seven billion euros in aid for Ukraine. The funding boost would be used to finance a German-backed plan for Ukraine to produce its own long-range weapons, the minister indicated. Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month said the two countries would jointly develop 'long-range weapons systems'. The government in Berlin has long been under pressure to supply weapons that Ukrainian forces could use to hit targets deep within Russia territory, as other Western allies have done. In particular, Kyiv had been keen to get German-made Taurus missiles, which have a range of over 500km. The previous German government in Berlin led by former chancellor Olaf Scholz had however refused Taurus deliveries for fear an escalation in tensions with Russia. New chancellor Friedrich Merz had previously signalled support for deliveries of Taurus but has not brought about a change in the government's position since taking office last month. More recently Merz has refused to address the issue, citing a policy of 'strategic ambiguity'. Pistorius, questioned on Thursday whether Germany was currently considering sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, said 'my answer is no'.