Jack White slams Trump’s gold Miami statue as latest proof of “modern American life” frustration

Jack White has weighed in on the new 22-foot golden statue of Donald Trump in Florida, and he did not sound impressed. The singer used the unveiling to take a broader swipe at the strange logic of modern American life, zeroing in on the kind of devotion the image seems designed to invite.

The sculpture, which shows the US president with his fist raised in a pose that recalls the gesture he made after the assassination attempt at a 2024 rally in Pennsylvania, was unveiled at Trump’s golf course in Doral, Florida. The ceremony was led by Evangelical pastor Mark Burns, who has previously described Trump as divinely appointed, according to The Independent.

Burns stood at the unveiling with the statue covered in white and blue fabric, styled a little like a Greek toga, before holding up his phone to the microphone to play a recorded message from Trump. “I want to thank Mark Burns. He’s a good pastor, he’s a good man,” the president said. “I’ve known him a long time, he’s been with me right from the beginning, maybe about two days later… I want to thank everybody there. I know it was done from love.”

The statue itself had already been in the works for a while. Earlier this year, sculptor Alan Cottrill told The Times that he agreed to make the piece in bronze for $300,000 (£221,800), and said he was the one who suggested covering it in gold leaf. He described that reaction as similar to offering water “to a person dying of thirst.”

“The most frustrating part of modern American life is the attempt to make sense of people who don’t even CARE that they make no sense at all.”

White posted that line on Instagram alongside an image of the statue, making his irritation pretty plain. As Rolling Stone noted, the White Stripes figure was raised Catholic and knows his way around Judeo-Christian theology, which makes the post read less like a passing joke and more like a pointed jab at what he sees as idol worship.

Burns, for his part, moved quickly to reject the idea that the statue was some kind of false idol. On X, he insisted: “Let me be clear: this is not a golden calf. This statue is a celebration of life. It is a symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, strength, and the will power to keep fighting for the future of America.” He also posted, “Today at Trump National Doral Miami, history was made,” while saying he was honored to lead the dedication event for the 22-foot statue created for Trump.

The Miami installation is hardly the first Trump statue to stir controversy. During his time in office, other public works have portrayed him alongside Jeffrey Epstein, including protest pieces titled “Best Friends Forever” and “King Of The World,” the latter placing the two in the famous Titanic pose. Both were made by the protest group Secret Handshake and removed quickly after they appeared, according to The Independent.

White, meanwhile, has long treated Trump as a recurring target. He recently criticised the president for posting a meme showing himself as Jesus Christ and for attacking Pope Leo, writing: “How can any so-called Christian support him after this blasphemy? How could any Catholic support him after he attacks the character of their Pope multiple times? How did so many millions of people fall for this conman?”

He added: “He’s already got worst President in the history of America on lock, but I’m gonna go ahead and take the honour of pronouncing Trump ‘Worst American of All Time.’”

That came after White criticised Trump’s military campaign in Iran and mocked him for serving as chair of the Board of Peace. He has also called for Trump to be removed from office after a racist meme featuring Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes was shared on Truth Social, took aim at Trump’s rambling anniversary press conference in January, and joined other celebrities in condemning his comments after the deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle.

More recently, White also pushed back at the Treasury Department’s plans to place Trump’s signature on all new US paper currency, calling him a “manipulative, loophole finding, egomaniacal, conman.” With the Doral statue now joining the long list of Trump image-making exercises, White’s latest reaction lands less like a one-off and more like part of an ongoing argument about what, exactly, all this symbolism is supposed to mean.