Springsteen Addresses WHCD Shooting With Prayer and Call for Civil Discourse

Bruce Springsteen began his Sunday night concert at the Moody Center in Austin by acknowledging the shooting that took place at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner the previous evening. The gunman was killed and a Secret Service agent wounded, but President Trump and other attendees escaped injury.

Springsteen offered a “prayer of thanks that our President, nor anyone in the administration, nor anyone attending, was injured,” then added a pointed statement. “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.”

The remarks fit squarely into the framework of his current tour, which Springsteen has described as a celebration and defense of American ideals, democracy, and the Constitution. He’s made similar appeals in recent shows, but the immediacy of Saturday’s attack gave the words a sharper edge. Springsteen didn’t use the moment to advocate for any partisan position. He simply drew a hard line against violence as a political tool, a message that resonated in a venue filled with thousands of people from across the spectrum.