Scorn in the USA: There's no question who is the real boss here

No one thinks he is cool. No one. Why do people hang around him?

It's what Lin-Manuel Miranda (via Aaron Burr in Hamilton) describes as "proximity to power". In other words, it's his job which makes him attractive. Sure, Conor McGregor backs him, but can former MMA man sing? I hope not.

You'd nearly feel sorry for Trump except he is so utterly awful that not even me, a kindly yet still cool grandmother of four, has the tiniest shred of sympathy for him.

How do we know he is crushed?

His giant tantrum over Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Bono and every other extraordinary celebrity whose endorsement he'd love to have.

Ohmigod, have you ever seen Springsteen live?

There I was in the Hunter Valley, about a decade ago, with thousands of other fans, aged from about five to 100 (or close).

The Boss performs a tribute show to himself, singing all the hits all the time, inviting folks up on to the stage, kids with placards, everyone singing for hours, hoarse, dancing sweaty, exhausted and happy. You might not love his music but he is generous with his time, his energy and his voice. Not bad for an old bloke. Actually, excellent for an old bloke. You could not fault him as a performer. Getting yourself adjacent to that would be wild (sadly, I was too shy to get up on the stage).

Politicians constantly want to cosy up to stars, hoping and praying some of the vibe will rub off. In Trump's case, that's extremely unlikely. The Onion, that most reputable and glorious of publications, revealed earlier this month that the estate of the bloke who wrote the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, was having big thoughts and feelings about Trump's use of the anthem. That is, if an estate can have big thoughts and feelings.

During Trump's first campaign, he used various Springsteen songs at his rallies. At that time, Trump was pretending to identify with the marginalised, the disempowered, the poor. Springsteen wasn't falling for that crap. He knew. And he let Trump knew he knew. He told the BBC: "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." Springsteen never sued. Instead, he kept speaking out against Trump.

Later that year, he told Rolling Stone: "The republic is under siege by a moron, basically," he said. "The whole thing is tragic. Without overstating it, it's a tragedy for our democracy ... The ideas he's moving to the mainstream are all very dangerous ideas - white nationalism and the alt-right movement."

During last year's campaign, it got a lot wilder. Springsteen said: "Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant." Never a truer word spoken.

Anyhow, a few days ago, Springsteen, touring the UK, let the apprentice have it.

"In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration ... tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring."

And as David Bauder, Associated Press's veteran media reporter, wrote last week, Springsteen and Trump have some similarities: "Guys in their 70s with homes in New Jersey and big constituencies among white American men middle-aged and older. And both, in very different respects, are the boss. That's about where it ends."

So I asked Australian professor of history and popular culture expert Michelle Arrow from Macquarie University if celebrities ever backed conservative politicians? She reminds me that the Godfather of Soul James Brown backed Richard Nixon, a racist and a crook. There is, she says, also the odd country music star who leans right.

But most musicians fashion themselves as anti-establishment.

"There's an association of rock music with broadly progressive politics ... and I suspect that if you're a musician and you really did have conservative views, you might not be quite so open about it."

So let me tell you more about the Trump tanty. When he heard Springsteen's comments from the pulpit in Manchester, the US president wrote on Lies Social: "Springsteen is 'dumb as a rock,' and couldn't see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out 'prune' of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that's just 'standard fare'. Then we'll all see how it goes for him!"

That's a combination of deranged threats, incoherent gibberish and caps lock. Never a good sign when Trump engages CAPS LOCK.

You know what it's like when your enemy keeps you awake at night? There was poor old Donny, at 1.34am Monday, posting more threats. He said he would call for a "major investigation" of celebrities who endorsed Kamala Harris, to see if they were paid to do that.

"Isn't that a major and illegal campaign contribution? ... And how much went to Oprah, and Bono???"

"IT'S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic 'entertainers,' this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system."

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On Monday morning, he said, without a shred of evidence, that Queen Bey was paid $11 million to walk on stage and endorse Harris without performing. "This is an illegal election scam at the highest level! It is an illegal campaign contribution! Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, Bono and, perhaps, many others, have a lot of explaining to do!!!"

As we've discovered, Trump's first term was about pretending to be the good guy. His second term is about dismantling justice, safety nets, small swinging dicks and undoing global co-operation. It's also, loathsome turnip that Trump is, about getting rich quick.

But Arrow of Macquarie University reminds me that Trump's second coming is about one other thing: revenge.

"He's really just out for vengeance in whatever way he. Trump sees himself as more of a celebrity than a president and so the idea that someone else has a sphere of power that he can't really access or touch, that burns. Particularly Swift is so influential around younger women and that was a demographic that did not vote for Trump."

And may there be many more demographics just like that. That is, if Americans ever get to vote again.