The White House blasted former White Stripes frontman Jack White as a “washed-up, has-been loser” after the Grammy winner insulted President Trump’s golden Oval Office makeover this week.
“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,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Daily Beast after White remarked online that the Oval’s new golden accents are “gaudy” and “vulgar.”
“It’s apparent [White]’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,'” Cheung continued.
White, a frequent Trump critic, had posted a photo on Instagram on Tuesday from Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House a day earlier. Golden accents, which Trump has steadily added since his return to the White House in January, can be seen all around the two leaders.
“Look at how disgusting [Trump] has transformed the historic White House,” the musician wrote in the caption. “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’.”
White responded to Cheung’s insult with a lengthy follow-up Instagram post Wednesday evening featuring photos of Trump, including one holding a pair of golden signature sneakers, and remarked “how funny” it was to him that the White House addressed his aesthetic critique and not the other points he’s raised against Trump, whom he has called a fascist, racist and sexist “conman,” among other insults.
“No, it wasn’t me calling out any of that, it was the f‑‑‑ing DECOR OF THE OVAL OFFICE remarks I made that got them to respond with insults. How petty and pathetic and thin skinned could this administration get?” White wrote.
White called the White House acknowledgment a “badge of honor,” and joked that the particular dig that he is “masquerading as a real artist” should be engraved on his tombstone.
“Being insulted by the actual White House that this particular conman leads is a badge of honor to me, because anyone who [Trump] supports and likes is a villain who gives nothing to their fellow man, only takes what can benefit themselves,” he wrote.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the simmering feud or confirmation of Cheung’s initial slam.
White has repeatedly taken aim at Trump and his supporters.
White wrote in a 2023 Instagram post that he was disgusted by anyone who attempts to “normalize” Trump, and the White Stripes sued the Trump campaign last year over its use of the band’s hit “Seven Nation Army” in a social media post. The lawsuit was later dropped after the video was removed.
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