Bruce could move to Australia if Trump wins

Bruce Springsteen isn’t the first entertainer to swear that he will move away if things don’t go his way politically. And he certainly won’t be the last.

Many stars through the ages have said "If so-and-so candidate gets elected, I will leave this country." It rarely if ever comes to pass. But I think there’s something important about Springsteen's statement that he will be on the next plane to Australia if President Donald Trump gets re-elected.

He made that statement speaking to the Australian press when asked about a potential move to Australia. He told the interviewer: “If Trump is re-elected – which he will not be; I’m predicting right now he’s gonna lose – if by some happenstance he should be, I’ll see you on the next plane."

And whether he goes or doesn’t go if Trump is re-elected is not really the issue. The issue is, the irony of somebody rich enough to make that kind of a decision deciding that he only wants a tax-and-spend Democrat in the White House. What difference is it to Bruce Springsteen if the middle class is choked by more programs, higher healthcare costs and the higher taxes that a Democratic president surely will bring?

It’s similarly ironic that only someone who is fabulously wealthy would be able to make that kind of a move across the world because of a politics-related temper-tantrum. With this “threat,” Springsteen actually shows how out of touch he is.

Think about it: If you or I decided to “get on the next plane to Australia," we would have loose ends to tie up without any household staff to do it. We would have to seek new employment, which in the pandemic would not be easy. We would have to find a place to live within our budget, something Bruce hasn’t had to do in a good 50 years. And then consider the expense of moving friends and family to be near you, or at least flying them in as much as possible, as I’m sure he would do for his mom and sisters.

So think about how much money you actually have to have to be able to make a move like that at a drop of a hat just because somebody you don’t like gets elected president. Also think about how someone with that much money cannot possibly understand what it’s like to have a Democrat in office, spending and taxing you out the wazoo — every day siphoning more and more out of your “Moving to Australia” account.

Bruce can afford it. We can’t.