Desi Lydic says she had to watch Fox News for “237 hours straight” to understand the backlash.
The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic tried to explain to Fox why MAGA is so angered by Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory stunt, but still didn’t get it.
“Do I understand what Obama said? No,” Lydic told the Daily Show. “Am I so angry that I vibrate like a broken refrigerator? Yeah.”
The former president joked at a campaign rally last week that President Donald Trump had made the White House look “like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory.”
Trump heavily redecorated the Oval Office, adding gold trim and moldings, as well as gold figurines and decor.
“I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations,” Obama said. “It should be on HGTV.”
Trump began redecorating immediately after taking office.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
Obama’s remarks drew backlash from Republican commentators and politicians, including Vice President JD Vance, who said the comment proved the former president “just can’t help but be super elitist.”
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Lydic, who joked that she had “been watching Fox News for 237 hours straight,” tried to explain the negative reaction.
“I’m angry because he had the audacity to insult the Cheesecake Factory,” she said. “Come on, everyone knows the Cheesecake Factory is your usual, run-of-the-mill, small-town, working-class restaurant.”
The Washington Post reported that Trump was preparing to spend at least $900 million on renovations to the White House.
Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The comedian then played clips of commenters describing the Cheesecake Factory as “classy” and discussing saving up for a dinner there.
“OK, so the Cheesecake Factory is for everyone,” she said. “But it’s also very expensive. Just like gasoline right now.”
An individual main course at a casual chain restaurant costs between $18 and $28. Cheesecake slices cost about $9 to $15.
The president also touted his $400 million White House ballroom project.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters/Kylie Cooper
Lydic also shared a video of former publicist Karoline Leavitt, insisting that the controversy is not at all about the Cheesecake Factory or its affordability.
“It’s about Democrats not being able to appreciate beauty,” Leavitt said.
Obama’s Cheesecake Factory comment even angered Trump, who called the restaurant chain a “very successful business” and spent seven minutes defending his renovation plans at a rally in Mississippi.
“I fix things very nicely, very nicely,” Trump said. “It’s a natural thing. It actually relaxes me.”
Obama’s comments struck a chord with the president.
Oumit Bektas/Reuters/Oumit Bektas
Most voters don’t like the president’s renovation plans. Fifty-nine percent of respondents to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll this month said Trump was spending too much time on his plans to improve the White House.
But the president argued that “the White House represents our country” and must be “intact.”
“I would try to explain this to a guy like Obama, but he wouldn’t understand,” he said.
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