Bruce Springsteen’s original drummer says the Boss should respect Trump on tour

Bruce Springsteen’s former drummer Vini Lopez is speaking out against Boss, who criticized President Donald Trump during his Land of Hope and Dreams tour.

Springsteen, 76, has repeatedly lashed out at Trump during his shows since the tour kicked off in Minneapolis on March 31; He accused the administration of being “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treacherous” and derided the 79-year-old Trump as “a president who cannot accept reality,” among other insults.

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During a recent interview California Post, Lopez, 77, Springsteen’s original E Street Band drummer, took issue with the singer criticizing Trump while on tour.

“You have to respect the president,” Lopez said.

“Trump is the president of the United States; everyone should respect him,” he continued.

“He is the president of the United States. And if I were standing there talking to him, I would have great respect for him,” Lopez said, adding that in politics he “wouldn’t talk to him about anything that was going on.”

In 1969, Lopez, Springsteen, and fellow musicians Vinnie Roslin and Danny Federici formed the band Child, later known as Steel Mill. The group performed together until 1971, after which Springsteen formed the E Street Band, with Lopez included in the original lineup.

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Lopez played on Springsteen’s first two studio albums, “Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ” and “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle” before leaving the band in 1974.

Lopez was a member of the original lineup of the E Street Band. (David Gahr/Getty Images)

When talking about her reason for leaving the E Street Band, Lopez told the California Post that she was “too attractive for something.” [Springsteen] I wanted to do it.”

However, Lopez has reunited with Springsteen several times for performances since his debut. In April 2014, Lopez was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band and played with the band and Springsteen at the induction ceremony.

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In September 2016, he appeared as a guest on the River Tour in Philadelphia with Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Lopez is currently performing with his band, Wonderful Winos, and told the California Post that his shows are different from those of Springsteen, who previously declared that his Land of Hopes and Dreams tour would be “very topical about politics and what’s going on in the country.”

“My band, no matter what we think, we’re not going there with our music,” he said.

Lopez was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of the E Street Band. (Kevin Kane/WireImage)

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Lopez said he doesn’t consider himself too ideological, although he acknowledged voting Republican in races ranging from local City Council to Congress.

In addition to his music career, Lopez also worked as a golf caddy for many years. He said he met Trump at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., before he became president.

Lopez shook Trump’s hand, saying he was aware of his conservative policies.

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“He was very good to me,” Lopez recalled.

“He was very curious and introduced me to Melania,” he added, referring to Trump’s wife, First Lady Melania Trump.

Lopez recalled that as he was leaving that day, Trump pulled him aside and asked for a “big favor.”

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“‘Tell Bruce I’m his biggest fan,'” Lopez recalled Trump telling her.

President Donald Trump recently called on his supporters to boycott Springsteen’s “overpriced” new tour. (Thoss Katopodis/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump recently called on his supporters to boycott Springsteen’s “overpriced” new tour.

“Bruce Springsteen, the bad and very boring singer who looks like a dried prune, suffering greatly from the work of a truly bad plastic surgeon, has long suffered from a terrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this month.

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He continued: “This guy is a complete loser spewing hatred towards a man The President Who Won the Landslide Electionpopular vote, including all Seven Swing States and 86% of counties across America.”

Trump also said that under former President Joe Biden and the Democrats, “Our Country is DEAD and now we have by far the ‘hottest’ Country anywhere in the world. MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT THEIR HIGHLY PRICED CONCERTS, SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”

While speaking with the California Post, Lopez said she was “not opposed to what Bruce said” and supported the 20-time Grammy Award winner’s right to speak out.

Lopez made it clear that she had no personal disagreements with Springsteen. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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But Lopez shared his view that politics should not divide Americans.

“Maybe I was a little more extreme when I was 20, but I’m 77 now, so my extremities are gone,” he said. “The political part is very divided. That’s a difficult situation for me.”

Lopez told the press that he remained optimistic about Trump’s policies.

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“I would love to see something good emerge,” he said.

Lopez and Springsteen have reunited many times, including at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Lopez also made it clear that he and Springsteen did not have any personal disagreements, saying that they were on “excellent” terms and that they remained in contact from time to time.

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“If he needs me to do something, he’ll call me,” Lopez said.

“Sometimes it’s because he hasn’t seen me in a while. He calls me and says, ‘Hey, come here,'” he continued. “And most of the time when I call him it’s scary because when one of our crew dies he doesn’t know. It’s happening more and more.”

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While Lopez said he did not plan to attend any of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s concerts during the Land of Hope and Dreams tour, he did say that he went to one of their shows in Philadelphia a few years ago. However, he stated that he did not interact with Springsteen.

“I don’t think he even knew I was there,” the drummer said. “I was sitting in the corner.”