Obama's Cheesecake Factory Joke About Trump's White House Décor Becomes Midterm Culture-War Topic
Photo: The Guardian USFormer President Barack Obama joked that President Donald Trump has the White House looking like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory" while campaigning for Democrats in Ohio, and the remark has since become a political talking point less than a week before the midterm elections. Obama made the comparison while referring to Trump's remodeling of the White House, adding "just gold everywhere." The joke played on maximalist decor: Saddam Hussein had about 100 palaces and a taste for gold plating, while the restaurant chain, though affordable for many, has lavish interiors. The Cheesecake Factory began in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978 and now has hundreds of locations across the US and Canada. Its original Beverly Hills restaurant has a fairly staid interior, while a location at Los Angeles's Grove mall has a grand staircase. Obama has been accused of snobbery over the remark, and others have rushed to defend the chain's affordable opulence.
Left-leaning outlets treat the episode as a mix of culture and class. The Guardian US opens with a scene on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, recounts the chain's history and design, and quotes the joke. It reports both the "snobbery" accusations against Obama and the defenders of the restaurant, framing the dispute as a fight over "elitism." The New York Times asks what the chain's designer thinks of both Obama's and Trump's jabs at his décor. It notes that the baroque style and its class associations became midterm talking points after the chain had already survived harsh critiques. Axios, the alternative source, is distinct in treating it as a broader pattern. It says culture wars regularly swamp American politics, especially when jibes are personal. It notes that the Cheesecake Factory is dominating discourse ahead of a potentially historic midterm, rather than war or technology. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.
How the sides differ Left sources explore the restaurant's décor, history and class politics; alternative source Axios frames it as a culture war dominating the final week before the midterms. Right outlets had not covered it.
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- The New York TimesPaywallWhat Does the Cheesecake Factory’s Designer Think of Obama and Trump’s Jabs at His Décor?
The Guardian US and The New York Times focus on the restaurant itself, its décor, history and class symbolism, with the Guardian covering the "snobbery" accusations against Obama and the NYT interviewing the chain's designer.
Axios treats the joke as an example of culture wars crowding out bigger issues in the final week before a potentially historic midterm election.
Not covering this story. None of the right-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.