WASHINGTON — President Trump fired back Monday at Barack Obama’s weekend barb comparing Trump’s White House renovations to a branch of The Cheesecake Factory, saying his predecessor failed to take care of the historic residence.
“The fact that you say it’s a Cheesecake Factory just shows why you were a bad president,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving on a campaign trip to Mississippi.
“We have to explain this to Obama because he doesn’t understand it because he’s not a smart guy,” the president continued. “He’s not smart at all because of the way he ran the country. Only a stupid person would run the country that way.”
Trump also claimed that Obama allowed the White House to deteriorate during his eight years in office.
“He doesn’t notice the dirt and grime that hasn’t been cleaned, where the walls haven’t been cleaned in years. He doesn’t notice the areas that haven’t been painted,” Trump said.
“Guys like Obama don’t see it. You don’t see the dirt. He doesn’t see the dirt. He doesn’t see the broken ornaments on a building.”
The president defended his renovation work — which included tearing down the east wing to build a ballroom, repairing and repainting the columns of the residence’s north portico, paving the rose garden, and adorning the Oval Office with gilded wall sconces — as necessary for good maintenance.
“I took care of the White House. I repaired it with the best craftsmen in the world,” he said. “We need to explain to Obama that the White House is a symbol of America and it needs to be maintained properly.”
Even the official White House X-account weighed in, mocking the restaurant’s massive menu, which averages about 20 pages and 250 items.
“Since we’re talking about The Cheesecake Factory…The only thing bigger than the menu is President Trump’s list of accomplishments,” he posted along with a photo of a fake menu offering a list of “accomplishments” options, including over a million private sector jobs created and no taxes on tips or overtime.
Obama, while campaigning for Democrats in Ohio on Saturday, told supporters that Trump “should be on HGTV” because of his emphasis on construction.
“He makes the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory,” added the 44th president, who has faced his own criticism over the design of his post-presidential library and museum on Chicago’s South Side.
The imposing disc-shaped building, made of concrete and stone, has been ridiculed by some pranksters as “Obamalisk” and compared to the Death Star space station from “Star Wars.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent responded to Obama’s comments Monday by visiting a cheesecake factory in Washington, D.C. for lunch.
“This is the man who built the museum that looks like Darth Vader’s tomb,” the South Carolina native told reporters. “I had a good meal. I always have a good meal. I would tell the Martha’s Vineyard group to try it.”
The Obamas own a home on Tony’s Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, where there is no Cheesecake Factory store.
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