Battling Trump

by Eduardo del Buey

Battling Trump

NOTE TO READERS: Unlike my regular articles that reflect my thinking using my own words, I believe that Robert De Niro’s and Bruce Springsteen’s recent words deserve to be repeated and digested as we confront a world of creeping authoritarianism and autocracy, where culture may cease to be free and creative, existing only to serve the interests of our political leaders.

Our artists represent the voice of discovery and criticism and must be free to create and share their views and works, regardless of whether we agree with them. This is the essence of free speech and has been the leitmotif of cultural development throughout the ages.

Battling Trump

This week, two major artists have spoken out against the autocracy the Trump administration is trying to implement in the United States.

Actor Robert De Niro was honored with a lifetime achievement Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In his remarkable speech, he told the audience that "Art is inclusive. It brings people together, like tonight. Art looks for truth, art embraces diversity and that’s why art is a threat — that’s why we are a threat — to autocrats and fascists."

“America’s philistine president has had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions (the Kennedy Center). He has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities, and education,” he continued.

“You can’t put a price on creativity, but apparently you can put a tariff on it. Of course, this is unacceptable. All of these attacks are unacceptable,” he said.

And this isn’t just an American problem; it’s a global one. Unlike a film, we can’t simply sit back and watch. We must act, and we must act now,” said De Niro.

He concluded his speech with a call for people to stand up to Trump “without violence, but with great passion and determination.”

“It’s time for everyone who cares about liberty to organize, to protest, and when there are elections, of course, to vote. Vote,” said De Niro.

“Tonight, and for the next 11 days, we show our strength and commitment by celebrating art in this glorious festival. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.”

Rocker Bruce Springsteen made similar comments at the beginning of a concert in Manchester, England.

"In my home, 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." "Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!" he continued.

He said he was summoning the "righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n roll in dangerous times," an invocation similar to the one delivered by Robert De Niro at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death," he continued, presumably taking a shot at Elon Musk and his destructive DOGE agenda.

"In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society," Springsteen went on.

"They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom," he said. "They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They are removing residents off American streets and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now."

"A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government," he continued. "They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American."

"The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people," he said. "So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, 'In this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray."

Author Deborah Lazaroff has written that there are no pros or even a “culture’ in an autocracy. Everything is about strict loyalty and obedience to the autocrat in power.

An autocracy is a system of government in which power is held by one person, who exercises absolute authority. That is Trump’s goal as he attacks and destroys democratic institutions one by one.

Culture, which looks forward and challenges accepted canons rather than obeying them, is always a challenge for autocrats to control or eliminate.

This is what Trump has clearly stated he wants to achieve. He has mentioned, for example, that he would remove anyone from all positions in government who has not pledged loyalty to him.

He has also expressed admiration for autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong Il, and even mentioned that he would like to be President for LIFE, like Xi Jinping.

President Trump is attacking artists, journalists, and cultural institutions across the United States. His allies abroad are exhibiting similar behavior, undermining our fundamental freedoms. Freedom does not come cheaply or simply through wishful thinking. We must all take a stand and combat this plague, or we risk losing our ability to live, create, and express ourselves freely.

Thank you very much for sharing.