'He's a conman': Bruce Springsteen slams Donald Trump

The singer who made a career addressing the struggles of the working class has called US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a 'conman'.

Bruce Springsteen performs on stage as The New York Comedy Festival and The Bob Woodruff Foundation present the 10th Annual Stand Up for Heroes event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 1, 2016 in New York City. (Kevin Mazur Photography) Source: Ebet Roberts

Iconic US singer Bruce Springsteen has described Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a "conman" who has preyed on parts of America that feel largely ignored.

In an interview with the BBC in London, Spingsteen used the launch of his autobiography 'Born To Run' to speak out against the current state of US politics.

"You have 30 to 40 years of deindustrialisation and the globalisation of the economy, so there were a lot of people who were left out of that, whose voices have been fundamentally ignored and not heard," he said.

"These are folks who feel that Donald Trump has been listening to them and speaks for them on some level. 

"I think he's a conman and they're getting played."

In an interview with Channel 4 in the US, Springsteen said he understood Mr Trump's appeal to voters.

"He gives these very glib and superficial answers to some very entrenched and very difficult problems," he said.

"They're answers that sound pretty good if you've struggled for the past 20 to 30 years." 

Springsteen said Mr Trump had "preyed on that part of the country" that had been left behind.

But, the man who made a career depicting the struggles of the working class in his music said he was still unsure if Hillary Clinton was a solid alternative. 

"I'm not sure if there's anybody out there who really is going to dig into those problems," he said.

Early in his career, Springsteen tried to avoid talking politics, insisting his music spoke for him.

He famously told Ronald Reagan to stop using his song 'Born in the USA' during his 1984 presidential campaign.

On the surface the song appears to be a patriotic power ballad, but its lyrics instead address America's harsh treatment of Vietnam veterans.

In 2004, Springsteen campaigned for John Kerry's unsuccessful bid to oust George W. Bush from the White House, and in 2012 he joined Barack Obama on stage when he was running for re-election. 

The singer said while he thinks Hillary Clinton "will be a good president", he had no plans to perform in support of her.