USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 2 June 2025Trump Defends White House Renovation After Obama Mocks It As Cheesecake Factory
4 Western Mainstream1 West AsianPhoto: Daniel Torok, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Obama mocked White House redecorations, likened them to a Cheesecake Factory. Trump defended renovations during a seven-minute rally in Corinth, Mississippi.
5 outlets told this the same way.
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Obama mocks, Trump fires back
Former President Barack Obama told Democrats at a rally in Cleveland on Saturday, “There’s gold everywhere,” and he added, “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” President Donald Trump defended his White House renovation projects and his design style on Monday, telling reporters, “For you to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.”
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
The dispute unfolded as Trump’s redecorating spree included the Rose Garden torn out and paved over for a patio, the East Wing demolished for construction of a new ballroom, and the West Wing barnacled over with gold accents and gilded frames. Rick McCormack, the restaurant chain’s former longtime vice president of design, said he did not find the comparison funny and told an interview, “I think it’s a little bit sad that the pettiness of politics would create that sound bite.”
Designers, aides, and rallies
Trump’s team seized on Obama’s jab as the Cheesecake Factory became a focus of the midterm elections, with USA Today describing Trump’s response as he took exception to the comparison as the restaurant chain emerged as an unlikely focus of the campaign.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited a Cheesecake Factory for lunch on Oct. 26, and he declared, “I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try.”
Conservative commentator Scott Jennings said on social media that Obama has “never been in a Cheesecake Factory. Undefeated at condescending to regular folks.”
Obama later campaigned for Democrats in the closing stretch of a midterm election that will decide control of Congress, while Trump’s critics argued his administration is focused on vanity projects instead of helping Americans with pocketbook issues.
Midterms and what is at stake
The verbal skirmishes between Trump and Obama played out as the Republican and Democratic parties battled to control Congress in the midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Al Jazeera said the exchange of insults and barbs unfolded as political polarization in the United States intensified to unprecedented levels under economic pressures weighing on the American public, while the Trump administration faced a drop in popularity amid rising living costs.
“Trump warned that restoring Democratic control of Congress would lead the United States into an economic depression similar to 1929.”
Trump warned that restoring Democratic control of Congress would drive the United States into an economic depression similar to 1929, and he said voting Republican means more money in Americans' pockets, lower taxes and a thriving economy. Obama, in turn, criticized Trump’s record on the war with Iran and said the Iran war raised oil and diesel prices and affected the prices of goods and services, while he also criticized tariffs as a burden on consumers.