The White Stripes have decided to drop their copyright infringement lawsuit against former President Donald Trump after the unauthorized use of their hit song “Seven Nation Army” in a Trump campaign video earlier this year.
Jack White and former bandmate Meg White filed a short notice on Monday to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” allowing the option to refile the suit in the future.
The move comes just under a week after Trump secured victory in the 2024 presidential election.
The legal dispute began in September when the Whites sued Trump, the Trump for President 2024 campaign, and campaign Deputy Director of Communications Margo Martin, accusing them of “flagrant misappropriation.” The video, featuring Trump traveling to campaign stops in Michigan and Wisconsin, used the unmistakable, driving riff of “Seven Nation Army” without permission, and the clip reportedly gained around 65,000 views before it was removed.
Jack White had initially expressed his outrage on social media, calling Trump’s team “fascists” and vowing legal action.
“Don’t even think about using my music, you fascists,” he wrote on Instagram after the video surfaced. “Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others).”
The Whites’ legal battle joined a series of artist-led actions against the Trump campaign’s use of music, including objections from Abba, Céline Dion, Beyoncé, and others, whose work had been used without consent at campaign events or in promotional material.
While White and the White Stripes have dropped their case for now, their “without prejudice” dismissal leaves open the possibility of refiling in the future.
After the election, White issued a scathing statement denouncing Trump:
Trump won the popular vote. End of story. Americans chose a known, obvious fascist and now America will get whatever this wannabe dictator wants to enact from here on in. We all know what he is capable of: Project 2025, deportations, nationwide abortion ban, ending his own 2 term limit, backing Putin and his war, shutting down the Board of Education, adding to climate change, limiting LGBTQ rights, controlling the DOJ, keeping the minimum wage down, etc. etc. etc.. Any or all of it. It’s absolutely dumbfounding that this con man succeeded in pulling the wool over so many Americans eyes not once, but twice. The racist, impeached, convicted felon and convicted rapist who stole national secrets and hid them in his bathroom, who told us to inject bleach, who wanted to fix hurricanes with nuclear weapons, who insulted handicap people, called military veterans suckers, who incited an insurrection that invaded the nation’s capital for God sakes (!!!), the failed business man who’s ventures have all gone bankrupt, a fake Christian selling bibles and sneakers like a carnival side show, etc etc etc. Christians? He’s not one of you and can’t cite one verse of Jesus’ teachings, Immigrants? He wants you out. Veterans? He’s a draft dodger. Minorities? He doesn’t care about you at ALL. Union members? He’s a scab. Working class Americans? He doesn’t give a damn how much you’re struggling. Women? You know exactly what he thinks of you. Dying on the stretcher from a miscarriage of your rapist’s pregnancy? Oh well, too bad. And all those rich pricks riding in their Cybertrucks listening to their Rogan and Bannon and Alex jones podcasts are laughing all the way to the bank looking forward to their tax cuts that don’t apply to the middle class. And not just with the electoral college this time, but the American people with the popular vote showed that the citizens placed him in power and now deserve whatever evils he’s going to enact.
