Every year, we at Exclaim! love to do a review of the most definitive music news, and I'm sure we've all already predicted that there will have to be a section entitled "Musicians Get Pissed at Donald Trump for Unauthorized Use of Their Songs" for 2024.
With ABBA having already made headlines today for demanding the disgraced former president cease use of their hits following a Republican rally in the US state with the biggest Swedish population, recent reverb pedal co-creator Jack White has now said that he's suing Trump over a video campaign staff shared on social media that's set to the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."
UPDATE (9/9, 5:22 p.m. ET): It looks like White not only talks the talk but also walks the walk — if his most recent Instagram post is any indication of how serious he is about suing the presidential hopeful. See what appears to be the beginning of his lawsuit against Trump below.
The musician posted a screen recording of the clip of Trump departing for Michigan and Wisconsin — which the campaign shared on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and has since deleted — on his Instagram, writing, "Oh....Don't even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit [sic] coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others)."
"Have a great day at work today Margo Martin," White continued. "And as long as I'm here, a double fuck you DonOLD for insulting our nation's veterans at Arlington you scum," the artist said, referencing an alleged altercation between members of Trump's campaign staff and a worker at Arlington National Cemetery for seeking to restrict photography in compliance with federal regulations. "You should lose every military family's vote immediately from that if ANYTHING makes sense anymore."
See White's post below as he looks to join the likes of Beyoncé and the estate of Isaac Hayes, who have both taken legal action against Trump's campaign. Céline Dion and Foo Fighters have also disavowed the convicted felon's unauthorized use of their music at his events.