Bryan Adams has joined the veteran musicians taking aim at President Donald Trump, bringing anti-Trump material into his latest album while insisting he doesn’t take political sides. His new release, *How’s It Goin’*, includes attacks on Trump’s approach to Canada. The move puts Adams alongside outspoken entertainers such as Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson, whose political interventions have drawn criticism from listeners and, in Springsteen’s case, a presidential call for a boycott.
Adams discussed the project during an interview with Sandie Rinaldo, explaining how songs about his home country developed into political statements. The conversation also moved into the trade war and Canadian leadership. Along with discussing his approach to the record, the rocker offered praise for Prime Minister Mark Carney as the man to deal with Trump.
The album’s political targets include the dispute over Lake Ontario’s name and Trump’s talk of Canada becoming America’s 51st state. Adams uses “Lake Ontario” to suggest the renaming effort serves as a distraction from the Epstein controversy. On “51st State,” he invokes the border and demands respect for Canada, turning those disputes into material for his latest release.
As Toronto Life reported in its account of the CTV interview, Adams said he doesn’t “take a stance politically, left, right or centre.” He described the songwriting as an expression of his “truth,” then acknowledged its political direction: “As it turns out, it is a political statement.” On “51st State,” his message becomes more pointed: “When you’re talking about my home, you better show some respect.”
Even Toronto Life, which welcomed Adams’s attacks on Trump, offered a qualified assessment of the actual music, writing that “these songs aren’t his strongest to date.” The publication nevertheless praised his commitment to the message. Adams’s own statement accompanying “Lake Ontario” described the song as intended for “all the sane people on both shores” and referred to the political situation as “the current madness.”
Springsteen’s anti-Trump performances have already prompted a direct response from the president. After the singer opened his *Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour* with speeches attacking the administration, Trump urged supporters to stop buying tickets, as Variety reported. His message was explicit: “MAGA SHOULD BOYCOTT HIS OVERPRICED CONCERTS, WHICH SUCK. SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.” The call followed Springsteen’s Minneapolis tour opener, where the singer accused the administration of damaging America’s standing abroad.
Watch Bryan Adams’s official “Lake Ontario” video here:
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Nelson also recently told the Guardian that he opposes “practically everything” Trump has tried to do. His own documented fan backlash dates back years: ABC13 reported in September 2018 that dozens of fans objected after he announced a rally appearance for Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Some told him to stay out of politics. Nelson responded on *The View*: “Everybody has an opinion. Everybody has a right to an opinion. I think I have one too.”
Adams’s political commentary extended to his expectations for relations between Washington and Ottawa. Discussing the trade war with Rinaldo, he said, “I think it could subside after the midterm elections down there.” He also backed Carney as the leader to deal with the American president, telling the interviewer, “I think he’s the right guy for the job for the moment.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.