Former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump’s reaction to his Cheesecake Factory joke, accusing the administration of prioritizing the controversy over inflation and rising costs for American families.
“They mobilized a whole government response to that joke,” Obama said Wednesday (October 28) at a rally near Atlanta. “Not to inflation, but to that joke.”
Obama also questioned why Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was directed to appear outside a Cheesecake Factory rather than focus on the economy.
“This is what I mean when I say these are not serious people,” Obama said. “They don’t have solutions to actual problems.”
The former president was campaigning for Georgia Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, when he revisited the joke he made about Trump’s White House renovations.
On Sunday (October 25), Obama joked about Trump’s renovations, saying, “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Trump fired back Monday (October 26), defending the renovations and criticizing Obama’s presidency.
“For you to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president,” Trump said, according to Scripps News.
At Wednesday’s rally, Obama said Trump was more upset about the restaurant comparison than his criticism of the administration’s economic policies and alleged corruption.
“The president wasn’t even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison. That part didn’t bother him. But he was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments,” Obama said.
Obama also joked about the administration involving Bessent, recalling that he never directed his own Treasury secretary to respond to criticism by visiting a restaurant.
“I never called my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, and said, man, you got to go to Arby’s, order roast beef. No cheese, though, that may look elitist,” he joked.
Obama argued that the administration had not addressed his criticism of rising prices, tariffs and alleged corruption.
“They did not dispute what I said about them being directly responsible for rising prices,” he said. “They did not argue with that.”
The former president added, “That’s the game they’ve been playing for the last two years. Just keep throwing distractions out there. Attacks, fabrications, phony outrage, and hope that you won’t notice,” Obama said.
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