Torn in the USA Singer's anti-Trump tirade divides fans

As the lead singer of a Bruce Springsteen cover band, Brad Hobicorn had been looking forward to performing at Riv's Toms River Hub in New Jersey on Friday. Then came a text message from the bar's owner, saying the gig was cancelled. Why? Because the real Bruce Springsteen had lambasted Donald Trump.

- David Smith Washington

"He said to me his customer base is redder than red and he wishes Springsteen would just shut his mouth," Hobicorn recalls. "It was clear that this guy was getting caught up in that and didn't want to lose business. The reality is we would have brought a huge crowd out there: new customers that are Springsteen fans that want to see a band locally."

The culture wars have arrived in New Jersey. Springsteen - revered for songs such as Born in the USA, Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark and Born to Run - has long been a balladeer of the state's blue-collar workers. But last year, many of them voted for the president.

Now their split loyalties are being put to the test. Opening his latest tour in Manchester, Springsteen told his audience: "The America I love, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration."

Trump responded by calling Springsteen highly overrated. "Never liked him, never liked his music or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented guy - just a pushy, obnoxious JERK," he wrote on social media. "This dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back in the Country."