Trump-hating rocker Bruce Springsteen is allowing the American Civil Liberties Union to use his iconic, if often misunderstood, America trashing Vietnam War anthem “Born in the USA” for the ACLU’s ad campaign promoting the leftist group’s birthright citizenship case set for an April 1 Supreme Court hearing challenging President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order restricting who is eligible for birthright American citizenship.
The use of Born in the USA as a patriotic song is a 180 degree reversal for Springsteen who has long downplayed the notion the song is patriotic.
When Born in the USA was released in mid 1984 as an album title and later a single, both promoted with Springsteen in front of a large American flag, it was embraced by conservatives, including President Ronald Reagan and columnist George Will, for it’s boisterous chest pounding chorus.
The song’s theme of a disgruntled Vietnam veteran who was used, abused and forgotten by his countrymen, ending up in prison, was overshadowed at concerts by the blaring stadium rock anthem arrangement and singalong chorus that audiences in the U.S. and around the world proudly sang: “Born in the USA!!! Born in the USA!!!”
Flashback: ‘Born In the USA’ Now Fits The Conservative Message.
It’s a trenchant commentary on the failures of the Great Society and radical environmentalism.