(KRON) – Rock musician Jack White apparently has a different aesthetic to President Donald Trump in terms of interior design. The former White Stripes frontman took to Instagram on Monday to critique what he called Trump’s “gaudy” makeover of the Oval Office — and prompting the White House to respond.
“Look at how disgusting Trump has transformed the historic White House,” White wrote in his initial post, alongside a photo of Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “It’s now a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy professional wrestler’s dressing room. Can’t wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he’s almost fully achieved the movie ‘Idiocracy.’”
Gold leaf inlays, wall hangings, framed paintings and other items were visible in the background of the Oval Office photo White shared on Instagram.
“Look at his disgusting taste, would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes?” White continued. “A gold plated Trump bible would look perfect up on that mantle with a pair of Trump shoes on either side wouldn’t it?”
“What an embarrassment to American history,” White added, while also calling Zelenskyy a “REAL leader of a nation.”
In a statement provided to outlets including USA Today and The Daily Beast, White House communications manager Steven Cheung responded to White’s criticisms, and took a few shots at White’s career.
“Jack White is 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,” reads the statement. “It’s apparent he’s been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of ‘The People’s House.’”
In response to the White House’s statement, White, a multiple Grammy winner, posted a lengthy response on Instagram, accusing Trump of “masquerading as a human being,” but also “as a Christian, as a leader, as a person with actual empathy” and “as a businessman.”
White also said he thought it was “funny” that his remarks about the Oval Office’s décor prompted a statement from the White House, when he could have instead criticized Trump over his “ICE tactics,” his “attempted coup and mob insurrection,” or his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, among several other criticisms White lobbed at Trump in the post.
“This man and his goon squad have failed upwards for decades and have fleeced the American people over and over,” White wrote, in part.
This is not the first time Trump has come under fire from White. In 2016, his band, the White Stripes — a duo consisting of himself and Meg White — took issue with Trump using their song “Seven Nation Army” in a campaign video for his 2016 presidential bid.
“The White Stripes would like to unequivocally state that they have nothing whatsoever to do with this video,” reads a message posted to the band’s Facebook page in 2016. “They are disgusted by this association, and by the illegal use of their song.”
Additionally, ahead of the 2024 election, White criticized celebrities who “normalize” Trump.
“Anybody who ‘normalizes’ or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of s— Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book,” he said at the time in an Instagram post.
Following Trump’s re-election in November, White also slammed the president as an “obvious fascist” and “wannabe dictator.”