Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday attacked Republicans for mounting a whole-of-government response to his joke about the White House resembling a Cheesecake Factory, rather than tackling inflation.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Georgia, Obama said, "They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke. This is what I mean when I say these are not serious people. They don't have solutions to actual problems, so they'd rather have the media and you talking about the Cheesecake Factory."
Obama had earlier joked in Cleveland, Ohio, that the $900 million renovation of the White House makes it look "like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory, it's just gold everywhere," referencing the gold-laden Iraqi palaces.
President Donald Trump retorted from his midterm travel tour, praising the restaurant chain as "very successful" and calling Obama "a lousy president." He added, "It's not about money. It's about seeing. Guys like Obama don't see it. He doesn't see dirt, he doesn't see filth, he doesn't see broken ornaments on a building. For you to say it was a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president."
Trump has overseen a costly revamp of the Rose Garden, built a new granite helipad on the South Lawn, and updated décor with gold signage, a style he favored since his first term.
While rallying for Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, Obama noted he had heard the president was displeased with his roast.
He joked, "I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory? I lived at Chuck E. Cheese and California Pizza Kitchen and the Cheesecake Factory. That was my jam for about a decade." He then linked the joke to rising food prices, saying many can barely afford to eat out and the administration should be focused on that issue.
Obama claimed the administration "did not dispute" his point that they were directly responsible for rising prices, a key midterm concern, and expressed surprise that the president "wasn't even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison."
He referenced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who mocked Obama outside a Washington Cheesecake Factory, noting Bessent said he never imagined a Treasury Secretary like Tim Geithner would make a similar move.
Obama also recalled the controversy over his tan suit during his second term, quipping, "I am old enough to remember when a president wearing a tan suit was a major national controversy. They were very upset, and I know I looked good in that suit."
The Cheesecake Factory exchange comes as both Trump and Obama campaign for candidates in a tight election cycle.
Obama said his appearance in Georgia aimed to boost Ossoff, not because he "looks like a Kennedy or handsome in the videos" but because he can "stir up some good trouble," and he praised Bottoms as being "in it for the right reasons."
Decision Desk HQ gives Ossoff an 89% chance of defeating GOP challenger Rep. Mike Collins, while the governor's race remains a toss-up, with Bottoms narrowly favored over Republican billionaire Rick Jackson.
