NEW YORK • Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has described Mr Donald Trump as an embarrassment to the United States, saying the Republican presidential candidate is a demagogue with simple solutions.

Springsteen, who has dramatised the plight of working class Americans in his music, said he understands how Mr Trump could seem "compelling" to people who are economically insecure.

"The absurdity is beyond cartoon-like. But he's got close enough (to the White House), so it can make you nervous," he told Skavlan, a talk show in Norway and Sweden, during an interview released on Friday. "I don't think he's going to win, but even him running is a great embarrassment if you're an American."

Mr Trump knows how to tell voters "some of the things they want to hear", he said, including people "uncomfortable with the browning of America".

"We have certain problems in the United States - tremendous inequality of wealth distribution - that makes for ripe ground for demagoguery," Springsteen said. "He has a very simple answer to all these very, very complex problems."

Springsteen recorded the interview ahead of next week's release of his memoir Born To Run, which describes his childhood in New Jersey and rise to fame.

The Born In The USA singer, famous for his onstage stamina, has drawn a diverse field of devoted fans for decades, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of Mr Trump's most public backers.

Springsteen insisted for years that he would let his music speak for him but has been more openly political since the election in 2004 when he campaigned for Mr John Kerry for president.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE