Jack White and White House feud after Trump's Oval Office redesign: 'Low life fascist'

Jack White and President Donald Trump's administration are sparring again .

The Nashville rocker and former White Stripes frontman took to social media earlier this week to criticize President Trump's redesign of the Oval Office, calling it a "vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler's dressing room."

White said that the revamp which features Trump merch and maximalist gold furnishings, is an "embarrassment to American history."

And on Aug. 20, the White House Communications Director Steven Cheung clapped back.

"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," Cheung  said in a statement to The Daily Beast.

"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.'"

The same day, White returned to social media to share his thoughts.

White posted Cheung's statement and his response, saying that he could have called out a number of President Trump's actions like his "blatant fascist manipulation of the government" or his "attempted coup and mob insurrection," but that it was his remarks about the White House decor that received a response from the administration.

"How petty and pathetic and thin skinned could this administration get?" he wrote."'Masquerading as a real artist'? Thanks for giving me my tombstone engraving! Well here's my opinion, Trump is masquerading as a human being."

White's statement continued on a new slide, where he wrote that "no intelligent person can defend this low life fascist."

In the caption, White expanded on his thoughts.

"I was raised to believe that we defeated fascism in World War II and that we would never allow it again in the world," White wrote.

"I don't always state publicly my political opinions, and like anyone I don't always know all of the facts, but when it comes to this man and this administration I'm not going to be like one of the silent minority of 1930's Germany," he continued.

"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, and we. all. know. it. -JW III."

White ended his post with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

More: The White Stripes sue Trump over use of 'Seven Nation Army' in social media video

Jack White and Trump feud ongoing for nearly a decade

White and Trump have been longtime adversaries.

In 2024, Jack White and Meg White, the duo behind the White Stripes, sued Trump and his deputy communications chief and the Trump campaign on Monday for using the 2003 song "Seven Nation Army" in videos posted to social media.

"This lawsuit seeks redress for a presidential candidate's flagrant misappropriation of the musical composition and sound recording Seven Nation Army ... by the White Stripes, which are among the most well-known and influential musical works of all time," the lawsuit said.

In November, White dropped his lawsuit against Trump . A reason was not stated.

Trump had used the song before in a 2016 ad campaign. At the time, The White Stripes published a statement on Facebook,  according to The Week .

They said, "The White Stripes would like to unequivocally state that they have nothing whatsoever to do with this video. They are disgusted by this association, and by the illegal use of their song."

Following the 2016 use of the song, White and his label, Third Man Records, released merch that said "Icky Trump." The shirts riffed off of the name of album and song "Icky Thump," which White released with The White Stripes in 2007.

The back of the shirt had the lyrics to "Icky Thump" printed: " White Americans? What? Nothing better to do? / Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too. / Who's using who? What should we do? / Well, you can't be a pimp and a prostitute too."

Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist with The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jack White, White House spar over Trump's Oval Office redesign