Jack White has fired back at the White House, after they called him a “has-been loser” over his criticism of President Donald Trump.
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Earlier this week, White took to Instagram to hit out at the President’s White House redesign, describing his taste as “disgusting” and the slew of gold ornaments and picture frames that now sit in the Oval Office as “vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy”.
It came after a photo was released of Trump meeting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with White re-sharing it and writing: “Would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes? A gold plated trump bible would look perfect up on that mantle with a pair of trump shoes on either side wouldn’t it?”
He went on to call Trump “an embarrassment to American history”, before adding, “Also pictured in this photograph, a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit,” referring to Zelenskyy.
It turns out the White House didn’t take too kindly to the musician’s comments, as White House Communications Director Steven Cheung fired back on Tuesday (August 19), calling White a “washed up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career.”
“It’s apparent he’s been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendour and significance of the Oval Office inside of ‘The People’s House,’” Cheung added in a statement to Daily Beast.
White then quickly responded, taking to Instagram once again yesterday (August 20) to call Cheung a “professional liar”.
He also criticised the White House for commenting on a trivial topic, rather than handling a multitude of more pressing issues, among those “his inclusion in the Epstein files”, “his gestapo ICE tactics”, and “the dying children in Sudan, Gaza and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“How petty and pathetic and thin-skinned could this administration get?” he wrote. “‘Masquerading as a real artist?’ … Trump is masquerading as a human being. He’s masquerading as a Christian, as a leader, as a person with actual empathy.”
White’s post included various photos of Trump holding up flashy gold sneakers, posing with Goya Food products (which he has been criticised for promoting while in public office), and showing Zelenskyy a shelf stocked with red “Make America Great Again” caps.
In his caption, White wrote: “This man is a danger to not just America, but the entire world, and that’s not an exaggeration, he’s dismantling democracy and endangering the planet on a daily basis.”
It’s not the first time White has taken aim at Trump and his administration. Earlier this June, White commented on the feud between Trump and his former ally and Tesla founder Elon Musk. Musk and Trump’s relationship had soured, and the highly controversial Kanye West had weighed in, hoping to get the two back on the same page.
Then in March, White swapped out the lyrics of his 2018 hit ‘Corporation’ to hit out at Trump and Musk: “I’m thinking about not being elected. Never holding a public office. Never serving one day of military service, But somehow having the authority to control parts of the US Government; Who’s with me?”
Back in November, the White Stripes frontman reacted to Donald Trump’s second electoral win, launching a blistering post on social media: “Americans chose a known, obvious fascist and now America will get whatever this wannabe dictator wants to enact from here on in… It’s absolutely dumbfounding that this con man succeeded in pulling the wool over so many Americans eyes not once, but twice.”
In August 2024, he warned the Trump presidential campaign not to use his music after a clip of The White Stripes’ music appeared in a video. The White Stripes’ hit ‘Seven Nation Army’ was used in the clip of Trump travelling on the campaign trail, and White then warned: “Oh….Don’t even think about using my music you fascists” before saying he would be filing a lawsuit for its inappropriate use.”
During his surprise set at London’s Assembly Hall that same month, he seemed to reference the dispute again, telling the crowd: “As soon as you join a political party, someone tries to lie to your face… I got news for you: you got a brain, you got a mind. Can I hear an amen, London!”
