The Surprising Reason Michelle Obama Told Barack To Spend Time With Bruce Springsteen
Former President Barack Obama and rock legend Bruce Springsteen are such good friends that they've now collaborated together on something special that reveals a part of themselves they've never shared before in a new book, "Renegade: Born In The USA." The work is an extension of an eight-episode podcast the two men did earlier in 2021 through Spotify.
The book contains excerpts of conversations between the two and also explores their friendship, which began way back in 2008 when Obama wasn't president yet but instead seeking out the position. That's when Springsteen started giving live performances at Obama's rallies. "I had wonderful experiences playing those rallies and those appearances with you," Springsteen says in "Renegade" (via the Los Angeles Times).
While Springsteen and Obama certainly have shared political philosophies in common, it was the former first lady, Michelle Obama, who made sure her husband became friends with The Boss.
Michelle Obama saw something in Bruce Springsteen that she didn't see in her husband
The future president and the New Jersey-born musician first met at a 2008 rally in Ohio, a state that Barack Obama went on to win in the election (via the Los Angeles Times). When Michelle Obama got to know the music icon — known to many as either just Bruce or The Boss — she had some quick advice for her husband.
"You need to spend more time with Bruce," Michelle said. Barack described his answer to CBS News as such: "I said, 'Well, why is that?' She says, 'You know, he understands all his failings and flaws as a man, and you don't seem to understand as well just exactly how messed up you are.'" The former president had a quick reply to that one with a simple, "You're right. No doubt."
From there, a friendship was born that has now spanned more than a decade and has taken the two men deep into conversation about a variety of topics, including their differences and how those differences have shaped them as Americans. Barack even awarded Springsteen with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2016 (via Rolling Stone).
On why Barack chose to collaborate with Springsteen on the book, he put it simply: "We did have a bunch of long conversations together. And I thought this might be something that would be useful for folks to hear."