Watch Bruce Springsteen Taunt Trump With ‘Don’t Hang Up’ in Australia
Bruce Springsteen trolled Donald Trump with a cover of the Orlons’ “Don’t Hang Up” in Melbourne after the president’s disastrous phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (via Consequence of Sound).
Springsteen opened his Melbourne concert with an acoustic rendition of the peppy 1962 pop hit, hoping its story of a rocky teenage romance might serve as a diplomatic salve. “We stand before you, embarrassed Americans, tonight,” Springsteen cracked as he introduced the song, adding, “We’re gonna use this to send a letter back home.”
The performance occurred not long after reports surfaced of a heated exchange between Trump and Turnbull that threatened to disrupt America’s strong and longstanding relationship with Australia. According to The New York Times, Trump grew angry and reportedly ended the call early after Turnbull pressed him on whether the U.S. would honor an Obama-era agreement to accept 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center.
Trump tweeted about the deal Thursday morning, referring to the refugees as “illegal immigrants” and saying he will “study this dumb deal.” However, Turnbull said the U.S. committed to upholding the agreement.
Springsteen’s “Don’t Hang Up” cover marks the second jab he’s thrown at Trump on his Australian tour. During a concert in Adelaide, the rocker criticized the President’s recent executive order “Muslim ban,” introducing his 2006 song, “American Land” as “an immigrants’ song.”
“Tonight, we want to add our voices to the thousands of Americans who are protesting at airports around our country the Muslim ban and the detention of foreign nationals and refugees,” he said. “America is a nation of immigrants, and we find this anti-democratic and fundamentally un-American.”
Bruce Springsteen played secret White House concert for Obama staffers.