Jack White has criticised the U.S. Treasury Department’s plans to place President Donald Trump’s signature on all new U.S. paper currency, calling out the move as a symbol of vanity at a time when everyday Americans are struggling financially.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Friday (March 27), White mocked the announcement. “Oh how humble!” he wrote. “But why stop there donnie? Why don’t you use your small hands to sign into law that your oh so stern orange face appears on the front of the hundred dollar bill as well?”
Traditionally, U.S. currency features only the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer — Trump’s addition will mark the first time a sitting president’s signature has appeared on paper notes.
White connected the move to the broader economic pressures facing ordinary Americans, pointing to rising gas prices stemming from Trump’s military campaign against Iran, which launched Feb. 28.
“TSA agents are selling plasma to pay rent while he takes the day off, cheats at golf, and bombs other countries for fun,” he wrote. “Gas prices are surging as a worldwide crisis that HE caused rages in the Middle East; it’s the perfect time to joke on fox ‘news’, visit Graceland, and sign into law to have your bloated, cocky signature on all U.S. currency!”
White also took aim at what he described as Congressional inaction, characterising Trump as “a manipulative, loophole finding, egomaniacal, conman” who had been handed unchecked power. He questioned whether the regulatory guardrails on Trump’s commercial ventures — including branded Bibles, sneakers and commemorative coins — were functioning at all.
“I’m sure Congress is regulating all that though and not just letting him break the law and profit from his office,” he wrote sarcastically. “We’re in good hands.”
White closed the post by suggesting — while acknowledging the legal implications — that Americans might consider marking over Trump’s signature on new banknotes, tagging the post #redactedbanknotes.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if someone started a campaign to black magic marker line out his name every time you receive a new banknote?” he wrote. “I think that’s against the law to deface U.S. currency, so I would never suggest that becoming a nationwide campaign…but is everyone allowed to break the law when they feel like it or just donnie?”
It is not the first time White has spoken out against the Trump administration in recent weeks. Last month he criticised the president’s declaration of war against Iran on social media, writing: “Behold the leader of the ‘Board of Peace.’”
White is one of rock’s most decorated musicians. As co-founder of the White Stripes, he helped define the garage rock revival of the early 2000s — the duo’s “Seven Nation Army” topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and won the 2004 Grammy for Best Rock Song, while albums including Elephant (2003) and Icky Thump (2007) both reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200. His debut solo album Blunderbuss (2012) debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the White Stripes in 2025.