Bruce Springsteen Fears Trump Is Appealing to ‘Un-American’ Behavior

Bruce Springsteen questioned whether Donald Trump is competent enough to lead the U.S. during an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF interview podcast.

“I’ve felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now,” he said. “It’s as simple as the fear of is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?”

Springsteen, who was vocal about his dislike for the President-elect calling him “very dangerous” said Trump appeals to behaviors that “previously were considered un-American.”

“When you let that genie out of the bottle—bigotry, racism, intolerance—they don’t go back in the bottle that easily if they go back in at all,” Springsteen told Maron. “Whether it’s a rise in hate crimes, people feeling they have license to speak and behave in ways that previously were considered un-American and are un-American. That’s what he’s appealing to. My fears are that those things find a place in ordinary, civil society and the country changes in a way that is unrecognizable, and we become estranged. You say, ‘Hey, well, wait a minute, you voted for Trump? I thought I knew who you were …’ You feel very estranged from your country.”

Still, the “Born to Run” singer is not ready to give up on his belief in the country. “America is still America,” he said. “I still believe in its ideals, and I”m going to do my best to play my very, very small part in maintaining those things.”

Listen to the full interview here.