The Shock Performance That Had the World Talking: Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and an Unexpected Message to President

“There’s only one Boss in America.”
Those words, spoken by Bono on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, were meant as a cheeky show of solidarity with his friend Bruce Springsteen. But no one—absolutely no one—could have predicted what would happen just a few nights later.

It started as a typical charity concert, organized under the banner of Bono’s ONE Campaign, bringing together artists from around the globe to raise money for AIDS relief and other humanitarian causes. The location? Madison Square Garden. The audience? Packed with celebrities, diplomats, and 20,000 fans lucky enough to snag a ticket.

What wasn’t on the program—what wasn’t even whispered backstage—was that this would become the most politically charged and shocking performance of Bono and Bruce Springsteen’s careers.

The Build-Up: A Brewing Spat with Trump

Just days earlier, Donald Trump had posted an all-caps tirade on his Truth Social platform, calling for an investigation into celebrities who had endorsed Kamala Harris.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN?” Trump thundered. He accused Bono, Beyoncé, Oprah, and others of accepting “illegal campaign contributions.”