Bruce Springsteen is thankful President Donald Trump and other attendees were not injured when an armed man rushed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, April 25.
“We begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women overseas, we pray for their safe return,” Springsteen, 76, said on stage before kicking off his concert Sunday, April 26, at Austin's Moody Center, Ashbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK reported citing social media videos. “We also send out a prayer of thanks that our president, nor anyone in the administration, nor anyone attending, was injured at last night's incident.”
The White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25 was interrupted when shots rang out inside the Washington Hilton. The glitzy event, held annually, brings together some of the most powerful people in Washington, and the journalists who cover them.
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Trump, the first lady and Vice President JD Vance were quickly escorted out of the ballroom as press from around the world took cover under their tables and seats. A Secret Service agent was shot but was wearing a bulletproof vest and is expected to recover, and no others were injured. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody.
“We can disagree. We can be critical of those in power, and we can peacefully fight for our beliefs, but there is no place in any way, shape, or form for political violence of any kind in our beloved United States,” Springsteen said during his concert.
Springsteen vs. Trump
Springsteen, who has been involved in a yearslong feud with Trump, kicked off the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour March 31 in Minneapolis with criticism and political disdain for the president. The 20-day tour includes shows in cities heavily targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"We live in dangerous times," Springsteen told the crowd in Minneapolis before condemning the "corrupt, incompetent, racist (and) treasonous" Trump administration.
The Grammy-winning artist's comments elicited a strong reaction from Trump, who responded with a fiery post on Truth Social.
"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," Trump, 79, wrote.
He went onto call Springsteen "a total loser, who spews hate against a president who won a landslide election."
"Under sleepy Joe (Biden) and the (Democrats), our country was DEAD, and now we have the 'hottest' country, by far, anywhere in the world," Trump continued.
The president also encouraged his followers to boycott Springsteen's "overpriced concerts, which suck," and "save (their) hard-earned money."
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Trump and Springsteen's feud dates back to 2018, when the rock icon used his Springsteen on Broadway residency to protest the Trump administration's "inhumane" immigration policy of separating children from their undocumented parents.
Last May, Trump called Springsteen "overrated" in a Truth Social post after the singer compared Trump's presidency to "authoritarianism" while on his European tour with the E Street Band. The president also suggested at the time that there could be consequences when the musician returned to the U.S.
'No place for violence,' says George Clooney
George Clooney, meanwhile, also condemned the incident at the press gala. During a speech given at the Film at Lincoln Center's 51st annual Chaplin Award Gala on Monday, April 27, Clooney said he may "disagree with everything that this administration stands for, but there's no place for the kind of violence we saw two nights ago in Washington, DC."
He added, "Nor is there a room for this kind of violence in Minnesota with Alex Pretti or Renée Good."
Clooney called for unity and fighting "against hatred and corruption and cruelty and violence."
"The question is simply, 'What are we, as citizens of this great country, to do?'" the actor said in his speech. "And it is that answer in all of us, left, right and center, to build a more perfect union, heal our wounds and begin to truly make America great again."
Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri, Edward Segarra, Taijuan Moorman, Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY; Chris Jordan, Asbury Park Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Springsteen sends 'prayer of thanks' for Trump's safety
