Trump Answers Obama's Cheesecake Factory Jab on White House Renovations; Bessent Joins In
Photo: The AtlanticPresident Donald Trump said Monday that former President Barack Obama does not understand his White House renovations, answering at a Mississippi campaign stop Obama's Saturday joke that Trump has made the White House look as if Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. At a rally for Democratic candidates, Obama had cited the ballroom, a South Lawn helipad, a paved-over Rose Garden and gold décor. Trump said the building must be pristine, without cracks in the columns, and that he fixed it with the finest artisans after it fell into poor shape. He said Obama does not notice dirt and broken masonry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had lunch at a Washington Cheesecake Factory the same day, recommended it to the Martha's Vineyard set, and said Obama's presidential center in Chicago looks like Darth Vader's tomb.
Left-leaning CBS News leads with Trump's reply, lists Obama's full roster of complaints, and notes Democrats applauded while conservatives called the remarks out of touch. HuffPost frames it as Obama getting under Trump's skin, calling the response a meltdown, citing an AI menu image and glued gold trim, calling Trump's remark racially coded, and noting Bessent's roughly $600 million net worth. Right-leaning Fox Business leads with Bessent, headlining his Darth Vader jab, and its opening leaves out Trump's own reply; it places Obama's rally in Ohio, while CBS says Michigan. Both sides report Obama's joke and the Bessent lunch; they differ on whose response is central and on tone. ZeroHedge, alternative, uniquely foregrounds Trump's insults, calling Obama a lousy president.
How the sides differ Left sources stress Trump's reaction and mock the response; right sources lead with Bessent's lunch and library jab; alternative sources foreground Trump's insults toward Obama.
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- The AtlanticPaywallTrump’s Cheesecake Factory Dissent
CBS News leads with Trump's Mississippi response and Obama's list of changes, noting partisan reactions. HuffPost uses mocking framing, citing a meltdown, an AI menu image, Bessent's wealth and a claimed racially coded remark.
ZeroHedge leads with Trump's remarks at Joint Base Andrews, including calling Obama a lousy president and not smart, plus the renovation details and Bessent's lunch and library jab.
Fox Business leads with Bessent's Cheesecake Factory lunch and his Darth Vader's tomb jab at Obama's library, summarizing Obama's rally remarks and not featuring Trump's own response in its opening.