Bruce Springsteen said “Outside, all hell is breaking loose in the United States” during prepared remarks at an October 2025 AFI Fest screening of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere in Los Angeles. He was endorsing the No Kings movement, not announcing a new song. His remarks also defended the country’s ideals and ended with a dedication to America, unity, and No Kings.
Where and when Springsteen said it
Springsteen made the statement at the AFI Fest screening of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere in Los Angeles in October 2025. Rolling Stone Australia reported that he delivered the remarks in prepared comments before performing. Rolling Stone Australia’s October 24, 2025 report reproduces the fullest version of the remarks used in coverage of the event.
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What he said about America and No Kings
The line was part of a political statement, rather than a standalone description. Springsteen said, “Outside, all hell is breaking loose in the United States,” then argued that despite the country being “terribly damaged” recently, its ideals remained worth fighting for. He invoked the United States as a beacon of liberty, democracy, hope, and freedom, describing its history as “250 years” in his prepared remarks. That figure is part of his rhetoric, not an independently sourced statistic.
Springsteen closed with the dedication: “I’m going to send this out as a prayer for America and for our unity and No Kings.” The Philadelphia Inquirer’s later account likewise places the statement in the context of his public political comments and reproduces a substantially similar version, with some differences in wording. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s November 7, 2025 report provides that context.
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In this setting, No Kings refers to the movement Springsteen was endorsing. His remarks express his political view; they should not be mistaken for a neutral assessment of the country’s condition.
What happened after the remarks
Springsteen performed “Atlantic City” and “Land of Hope and Dreams” at the event. The Inquirer reports that his dedication came before “Land of Hope and Dreams.” The speech was not a new song announcement, and the reported set does not indicate that he performed a song from Nebraska.
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How to read the quote
The headline phrase can sound like an isolated declaration, but Springsteen paired it with a defense of American ideals and a call for unity. The reports attribute the remarks to Springsteen’s prepared comments at the screening. They are journalistic transcriptions, not a separately verified formal transcript; for that reason, short quotations are more reliable to reproduce than treating every version of the longer statement as identical.
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