Key Takeaways
- • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge fund manager with an estimated net worth of around $600 million, publicly rebutted former President Barack Obama's mockery of Trump's White House renovations by dining at the Cheesecake Factory near the White House on Monday.
- • Bessent told a Fox Business reporter that the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June, "looks like Darth Vader's tomb," and ordered his usual French Dip Cheeseburger, priced at $22.95 at the downtown Washington location.
- • Obama's remark, made at an Ohio rally on Saturday for Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown, that the White House looked "like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory" triggered a class-warfare debate among Republican commentators and critics.
- • Trump defended his White House redesign on Monday, arguing the building must be maintained properly and calling Obama's comparison proof "why you were a lousy president."
- • The exchange comes days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, where polls indicate Democrats are poised to make significant congressional gains amid voter discontent over high costs.
Summary
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday responded to former President Barack Obama's criticism of President Donald Trump's White House renovations by dining at the Cheesecake Factory and praising its food, according to CNBC. The response followed Obama's remark at a rally in Ohio on Saturday for gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, in which he said Trump seemed "very focused on home renovations" and that the White House looked "like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." The crowd reacted with cheers and laughter.
Bessent, a former hedge fund manager whose net worth has been estimated at around $600 million, told a Fox Business reporter outside the restaurant near the White House that "This is the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader's tomb," referring to the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June. He added that he would recommend the restaurant to the "Martha's Vineyard set," a reference to the island where Obama vacationed as president and where he and Michelle Obama now own an estate. Bessent ordered his usual French Dip Cheeseburger, a "Glamburger" priced at $22.95 at the restaurant's downtown Washington location, and later recommended the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls in a follow-up post on X directed at Obama.
Trump, speaking as he headed to Mississippi for a campaign rally, defended the redesign at length, saying the White House "is a symbol of America, and it has to be maintained properly" and claiming Obama had overlooked needed repairs to columns and brickwork. The renovations include gold leaf throughout the Oval Office, a White House helipad, and an unfinished ballroom.
Republican commentators including Matt Whitlock and Scott Jennings characterized Obama's remarks as elitist, with Jennings saying the former president "has never been in a Cheesecake Factory." Menswear influencer Derek Guy countered on X that the criticism itself was condescending toward working-class Americans, noting his own family ate at the chain for special occasions. The dispute unfolds days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with most polls and analyst projections indicating Democratic gains in Congress. The Cheesecake Factory is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Bessent, a former hedge fund manager whose net worth has been estimated at around $600 million, told a Fox Business reporter outside the restaurant near the White House that "This is the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader's tomb," referring to the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June. He added that he would recommend the restaurant to the "Martha's Vineyard set," a reference to the island where Obama vacationed as president and where he and Michelle Obama now own an estate. Bessent ordered his usual French Dip Cheeseburger, a "Glamburger" priced at $22.95 at the restaurant's downtown Washington location, and later recommended the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls in a follow-up post on X directed at Obama.
Trump, speaking as he headed to Mississippi for a campaign rally, defended the redesign at length, saying the White House "is a symbol of America, and it has to be maintained properly" and claiming Obama had overlooked needed repairs to columns and brickwork. The renovations include gold leaf throughout the Oval Office, a White House helipad, and an unfinished ballroom.
Republican commentators including Matt Whitlock and Scott Jennings characterized Obama's remarks as elitist, with Jennings saying the former president "has never been in a Cheesecake Factory." Menswear influencer Derek Guy countered on X that the criticism itself was condescending toward working-class Americans, noting his own family ate at the chain for special occasions. The dispute unfolds days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with most polls and analyst projections indicating Democratic gains in Congress. The Cheesecake Factory is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
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