Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain has publicly criticised fellow veteran rock star Bruce Springsteen, calling him an "annoying, bitter old man" and telling him to "shut up" during an appearance on the "Complete Disaster Network" podcast. The 76-year-old Cain, a self-described "diehard conservative" married to Trump adviser Paula White-Cain, took aim at Springsteen's outspoken political commentary and even dismissed his 1984 classic "Born in the USA" as effectively a "diss" track against America.

Cain argued that musicians should keep politics out of their art, saying he tries to do so in his own music, yet in the same breath promoted his new patriotic solo single "Winds of Freedom," inspired by right-wing evangelical figure Eric Metaxas. He also name-checked fellow conservative rockers Ted Nugent and Kid Rock as ideological allies, acknowledging that he and Kid Rock are "probably on an island" within the largely liberal-leaning music industry, and briefly mentioned actor Robert De Niro as another target of his frustration.