White House lashes out at Jack White after rocker slams Trump’s Oval Office as ‘vulgar and gaudy’
WASHINGTON, DC: Rocker Jack White has ignited a political and cultural spat with the White House after blasting President Donald Trump’s redesign of the Oval Office.
In a post to his Instagram followers on Monday, the 12-time Grammy winner described the gold-heavy additions as “an embarrassment to American history,” likening the presidential workspace to “a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler’s dressing room.”
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Jack White calls decor an embarrassment
White, the former frontman of The White Stripes, also mocked Trump personally, asking, “Look at his disgusting taste, would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes?”
He added that a “gold-plated Trump Bible would look perfect up on that mantle with a pair of Trump shoes on either side wouldn’t it?”
His post has since racked up nearly 120,000 likes.
In a follow-up exchange with fans, White agreed with one commenter who objected to his comparison of the Oval Office to wrestling locker rooms, writing: “I agree that pro wrestlers don’t deserve the comparison.”
Jack White has earned 12 Grammy Awards over the course of his career, beginning with his first win for the White Stripes hit “Seven Nation Army.” The track was controversially used in one of Donald Trump’s campaign videos last year without authorization, leading White to warn of legal action.
White lashed out on Instagram after the video surfaced, posting, “Don’t even think about using my music, you fascists.”
White House hits back at Jack White
The criticism quickly drew an angry response from the Trump administration. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed the rocker’s remarks as irrelevant in a statement to The Daily Beast:
“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,” he said, adding, “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.’”
Trump has infused the White House with the lavish style of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The residence now features paintings in ornate gold frames, gilded mirrors, cherubs brought in from his resort, and a fireplace decorated with gold appliques and crowned with urns.
“I picked it all myself,” Trump boasted last month. “I’m very proud of it.”
