Obama Likens Trump's Gold-Accented White House to a Cheesecake Factory, Prompting Online Backlash

Former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump's gold-accented Oval Office on Saturday, saying the White House looked as if Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory. Obama also said Trump seemed very focused on home renovation and belonged on HGTV, adding that there was gold everywhere.

Trump's critics welcomed the jibe, while many supporters criticized it on social media. Some accused Obama of snobbery and of insulting the restaurant chain and its customers. Scott Jennings, a CNN host, wrote on X that Obama had apparently never been in a Cheesecake Factory. Conservative commentator Laura Loomer, described as a close Trump ally, said the chain serves good food that Americans can afford. Commentator Mark Whitlock wrote that it suits people who cannot afford a private chef at a Martha's Vineyard estate. Others attacked the design of Obama's presidential library in Chicago and his wealth. MarketWatch described the remark as an Obama comparison of Trump's White House modifications to the restaurant.

Left-leaning HuffPost leads with the reaction, framing it in its headline as a MAGA meltdown. It quotes Obama at length, then devotes most of its space to posts from Jennings, Loomer and Whitlock. Alternative outlet MarketWatch takes a different angle. It notes that the chain was the subject of unflattering headlines but is one of the hottest stocks around, and it gives only a brief account of Obama's remark. Both outlets agree on the core fact that Obama made the comparison over the weekend. They differ in focus: HuffPost stresses political reaction, and MarketWatch stresses the company's market standing. Right-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.