White House rips ex-White Stripes singer for slamming Trump Oval Office redecorating as 'gaudy'
White House communications director Steven Cheung ripped the "Seven Nation Army" singer for calling Trump's new gold-accented office "gaudy" and "vulgar," stating that the musician is "washed-up" and a "has-been."
"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.
He continued, "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.'"
Cheung's statement followed White's Instagram post on Monday night that featured an image of Trump's Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they discussed finding peace in the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, the musician focused on attacking the gold decor adorning the office's fireplace that was visible behind the two world leaders.
"Look at how disgusting trump has transformed the historic White House. It's now a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler's dressing room," White began.
"Can't wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he's almost fully achieved the movie 'Idiocracy,'" he added, mentioning Trump's ambitions to host a UFC fight in front of the White House next year as part of America's 250th birthday celebrations.
Since the start of his second term, President Trump has updated the look of the presidential office, adding gold adornments throughout the room, as well as framing a copy of the Declaration of Independence on a wall near the Resolute Desk.
Trump is also planning on adding a ballroom to the White House that will reportedly cost $200 million to build.
The rocker continued slamming Trump's renovations.
"Look at his disgusting taste, 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? What an embarrassment to American history."
White added praise for Zelenskyy at Trump's expense, stating, "Also pictured in this photograph, a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit."
White has feuded with the president in the past. His former band, "The White Stripes," sued the Trump campaign in 2024 for using the riff from "Seven Nation Army" in intro videos during campaign rallies.
White also called out celebrities who appeared friendly with Trump at a UFC fight in 2023.
"Anybody who 'normalizes' or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of s—t Trump with any level of respect is ALSO disgusting in my book. That's you Joe Rogan, you Mel Gibson, you Mark Wahlberg, you Guy Fieri. This is a statement from me, not a discussion/debate. - Jack White III," he wrote on Instagram at the time.
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MIAMI — Smartmatic, the elections-technology company suing Fox News for defamation , is now contending with a growing list of criminal allegations against some of its executives — including a new claim by federal prosecutors that a 'slush fund' for bribing foreign officials was financed partly with proceeds from the sale of voting machines in Los Angeles. The new details about the criminal case surfaced this month in court filings in Miami, where the company's co-founder, Roger Pinate, and two Venezuelan colleagues were charged last year with bribing officials in the Philippines in exchange for a contract to help run that country's 2016 presidential elections. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic, has pleaded not guilty. 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Smartmatic said the Justice Department's new filing was filled with 'misrepresentations' and is 'untethered from reality.' 'Let us be clear: Smartmatic wins business because we're the best at what we do,' the company said in a statement. 'We operate ethically and abide by all laws always, both in Los Angeles County and every jurisdiction where we operate.' Still, Fox has gone to court to try to get more information about L.A. County's dealings with Smartmatic. The network has long tried to leverage the bribery allegations to undermine Smartmatic's narrative about its business prospects – a key component in calculating any potential damages — and portray it as a scandal-plagued company brought low by its own legal problems, not Fox's broadcasts. South Florida-based Smartmatic was founded more than two decades ago by a group of Venezuelans who found early success working for the government of the late Hugo Chavez , a devotee of electronic voting. The company later expanded globally, providing voting machines and other technology to help carry out elections in 25 countries, from Argentina to Zambia. It was awarded its contract to help with Los Angeles County elections in 2018. The contract, which Smartmatic continues to service, gave the company an important foothold in what was then a fast-expanding U.S. voting-technology market. But Smartmatic has said its business tanked after Fox News gave President Donald Trump's lawyers a platform to paint the company as part of a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. Fox itself eventually aired a piece refuting the allegations after Smartmatic's lawyers complained , but it has aggressively defended itself against the defamation lawsuit in New York. 'Facing imminent financial collapse and indictment, Smartmatic saw a litigation lottery ticket in Fox News's coverage of the 2020 election,' the network's lawyers said in a court filing. Smartmatic has disputed Fox's characterization in court filings as 'lies' and 'another attempt to divert attention from its long-standing campaign of falsehoods and defamation.' As part of its effort to investigate Smartmatic's work in Los Angeles, Fox has sued to force LA County Clerk Dean Logan to hand over public records about his dealings with Smartmatic's U.S. affiliate. Fox's lawyers also questioned Logan in a deposition about a dinner a Smartmatic executive bought for him at the members-only Magic Castle club and restaurant in Los Angeles and a Smartmatic-paid trip that Logan made to Taiwan in 2019 to oversee the manufacturing of equipment by a Smartmatic vendor. U.S. prosecutors claim that vendor was deeply involved in the alleged kickback scheme in the Philippines. The five-day trip included business class airfare, hotel and numerous meals as well as time for sightseeing, Fox said. 'The trip's itinerary demonstrates that the trip was not a financial inspection or audit. It was a boondoggle,' Fox said in court filings. Logan, who did not report the gifts in his financial disclosures, said in his 2023 deposition that the meal at the Magic Castle was a 'social occasion' unrelated to business and that he was not required to report the trip to Taiwan because his visit was covered by the contract. Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for Logan's office, said in a statement that the bribery allegations are unrelated to the company's work for L.A. County and that the county had no knowledge of how the proceeds from its contract would be used. All of Smartmatic's work has been evaluated for compliance with the contract's terms, Sanchez added, and as soon as Pinate was indicted he and the other defendants were banned from conducting business with the county. As for the trip to Taiwan, Sanchez said another county official joined Logan for the trip and the two conducted several on-site visits and conducted detailed reviews of electoral technology products that were required prior the start of their manufacturing. Logan's spouse accompanied him on the trip, but at the couple's own expense, the spokesman added. 'Unfortunately, this is an attempt to use the County as a pawn in two serious legal actions to which the County is not a party,' Sanchez said. Smartmatic has settled two other defamation lawsuits it brought against conservative news outlets Newsmax and One America News Network over their 2020 U.S. election coverage. Settlement terms weren't disclosed. U.S. prosecutors in Miami have also accused Pinate of secretly bribing Venezuela's longtime election chief by giving her a luxury home with a pool in Caracas. 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