Springsteen calls Trump a ‘moron’

“Well, you know, the republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic,” Springsteen said in an excerpt of an interview released Friday by Rolling Stone. “Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy.”

“The Boss,” who is publicizing his upcoming autobiography, accused the former “The Apprentice” star of fomenting bigotry and conspiracy theories both through his rhetoric and by failing to speak out in condemnation against some of his supporters.

“When you start talking about elections being rigged, you’re pushing people beyond democratic governance,” said Springsteen, referring to Trump’s repeatedly voiced concerns about the election system being “rigged” and voter fraud undermining the electoral system.

“And it’s a very, very dangerous thing to do. Once you let those genies out of the bottle, they don’t go back in so easy, if they go back in at all.”

Springsteen mused that Trump’s candidacy has mainstreamed “very dangerous ideas — white nationalism and the alt-right movement.”

“These are things that are obviously beyond the pale for any previous political candidate. It would sink your candidacy immediately,” said Springsteen, who expressed fears for the future of political discourse.

The New Jersey rocker, known for his blue-collar image, said that Trump’s popularity is the result of a failure to address the “the real cost of deindustrialization and globalization” that has dramatically affected the lives of millions of American workers.

“And Trump’s thing is simple answers to very complex problems. Fallacious answers to very complex problems. And that can be very appealing.”

Though the “Born to Run” singer admitted people “don’t go to musicians for their political points of view,” he said he hasn’t lost faith in his albeit limited ability to make an impact on the election.

Springsteen said there is no lack of enthusiasm for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, saying, “I think she would be a very, very good president.”