Trump Tries to Distract With Plastic Surgery Post as Iran Talks Fail

On Sunday, Donald Trump reacted to the failure of peace talks with Iran by launching a scathing attack on the artist Bruce Springsteen.

The 79-year-old president shifted his focus to the rock star’s physical appearance, posting a digitally altered image of Springsteen just hours after peace talks between Vice President J.D. Vance and the Iranian delegation ended in failure.

“Bruce Springsteen before plastic surgery???” Trump wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), accompanying his message with a photo of the 76-year-old artist that had clearly been digitally altered. In the image, “The Boss”—Springsteen’s nickname—appears to have teeth that are significantly more crooked than in his actual smile, and gives the impression of having far less hair than usual.

Trump has long displayed an obsession with the famous New Jersey star, who is arguably one of the music industry’s most vocal critics of Trump. This fixation has intensified more than ever, particularly as Springsteen and his E Street Band embark on a U.S. tour titled “Land of Hope and Dreams”—a tour he has described as “highly political.”

Earlier this month, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “The Boss” is a “very bad singer, boring to boot… and that he looks like a dried-up prune who has suffered greatly at the hands of a very bad plastic surgeon.” Trump added that Springsteen—who has been nominated for 51 Grammy Awards and won 20—likely suffers from a “terrible and incurable case of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome,'” sometimes referred to by the acronym TDS.

Springsteen, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, launched his tour earlier this year in Minneapolis—the very city where two American citizens were killed by federal agents acting under Trump’s orders last January.

Springsteen wrote a song titled “Streets of Minneapolis” in the wake of the fatal shooting that claimed the lives of Renee Good and Alex Prettey—both 37 years old—amidst the aggressive crackdown campaign the president had launched against immigrants.

During his concerts, Springsteen has stated that America is now “in the grip of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, irresponsible, and treasonous administration.”

Addressing his audience from the stage in Minneapolis, the “Born in the USA” star declared: “If you feel powerless, hopeless, betrayed, frustrated, and angry, I understand. And that is precisely why the E Street Band is here tonight. This tour was not planned. We are here tonight because we need to feel your hope and your strength, and we want to bring you, in turn, a little hope and strength. I hope we have succeeded.”

He added: “All I can say is: God bless Alex Pritty, God bless Renee Good, God bless you, and God bless America.” The tour will conclude in Washington, D.C.

Perhaps no other musician is as revered as Springsteen for embodying the aspirations and struggles of the working class. For decades, his music has chronicled personal suffering in the face of national adversity—from the Vietnam War and the oil embargo to the gradual decline of the “Rust Belt.”

Trump, too, managed to rally the support of the working class by demonstrating, during his election campaign, that he understood their struggles. Yet, even as he continues his virulent attacks against the New Jersey native, all eyes remain fixed on his conflict with Iran.

On Saturday evening, Vance announced from Pakistan that he had failed to reach an agreement with Iran, following 21 hours of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Trump was attending a UFC championship in Miami—accompanied by his family and Senator Marco Rubio—at the very moment the talks ultimately collapsed.

Earlier, Trump told reporters that “whether or not a deal is reached makes no difference” to him. However, it makes a colossal difference to Americans—particularly those in the working class—who are seeing fuel and oil prices skyrocket even as he continues to bomb the Middle East.