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Former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump’s White House renovations Saturday, comparing the historic residence to a cheesecake factory run by Saddam Hussein while he campaigned for Democrats in Ohio.
Obama made the jab at a rally in Cleveland supporting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, criticizing Trump’s priorities just 10 days before the midterm elections.
“I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on renovating the house,” Obama said. “It should be on HGTV.”
OBAMA says he occupies ‘suite’ in Trump’s mind and questions president’s focus on Americans.
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally at the Cleveland Public Auditorium October 24, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. Obama on Saturday attacked President Trump’s White House renovations, despite documented practical uses for the improvements to the property. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Obama discussed Trump’s ballroom project, the Rose Garden makeover and the South Lawn heliport before taking aim at the president’s affinity for gilded decorations.
“He makes the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory,” Obama joked.
The renovations, however, include several functional improvements to the White House grounds.
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Tables and chairs in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, Friday, August 8, 2025. Trump ordered updates to the Rose Garden in March. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The former central lawn of the Rose Garden was replaced with limestone paving in 2025, creating a patio for outdoor events, speeches and entertaining, while traditional roses were retained around the perimeter.
Trump also unveiled an upgraded granite White House helipad in September, emblazoned with the presidential seal. Official White House photographs show Marine One landing and departing from the new facility during a September 21 dedication ceremony.
The Administration Ballroom Project aims to provide a permanent, secure space for large official events, addressing a long-standing reliance on temporary tents for major White House receptions. A National Park Service environmental assessment says the need for expanded event space was identified in a 2000 White House planning document.
Obama’s stunt on Trump’s White House renovation comes as his own presidential center in Chicago has been criticized for its imposing granite-clad tower, which some critics have dubbed “the Obamalisk,” as well as soaring construction costs and years of delays.
The projected price tag for the Obama Presidential Center has surpassed $1 billion, nearly triple its original estimate of $350 million, according to a previous report from Fox News Digital. Contractors claimed they were owed millions for their work, while taxpayers were saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in associated public infrastructure costs, separate from the center’s construction budget.
Obama’s criticism extends beyond the presidential residence and also involves Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, which the former president blames on rising energy costs.
“More importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that no one asked for and that no one voted for,” Obama said.
He also defended the nuclear agreement negotiated under his presidency.
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Trump gave the press a tour of the White House Ballroom construction. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Iran did not have nuclear weapons because I put in place an agreement that, as everyone knows, prevented it from acquiring nuclear weapons,” Obama said.
Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal in 2018, arguing that its temporary nuclear restrictions were insufficient and that it had failed to adequately address Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional militant terrorist groups.
The deal offered sanctions relief against Tehran in exchange for nuclear restrictions and international inspections. Inspectors reported some Iranian compliance before the U.S. withdrawal, although Iran later expanded uranium enrichment beyond the limits proposed by the deal.
Obama also accused Trump of pursuing policies that raise costs for consumers, criticizing immigration measures and urging Ohio voters to hold Republicans accountable.
Acton faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor’s race, while Brown challenges Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
The former president carried Ohio in 2008 and 2012, but the state supported Trump in all three of his presidential campaigns.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on Obama’s remarks.
Michael Dorgan of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
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