Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent answered former President Barack Obama’s criticism of White House renovations on Monday with a pointed lunch stop at the Cheesecake Factory in Washington, D.C. He then turned [1] the restaurant joke back on Obama and the design of his presidential center in Chicago.
Obama delivered his criticism Saturday during a rally in Ohio, where he was campaigning for Democratic candidates. The former president mocked President Donald Trump’s attention to renovations at the White House and suggested the president belonged on a television renovation program.
Trump “seems very focused on home renovations” and “should be on HGTV,” Obama said during the rally.
Obama then sharpened the attack by targeting Trump’s preference for gold décor. “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama quipped.
Makes speeches for 500k a pop. Hasn’t eaten dinner that costs less than $250 in years. Has never been in a Cheesecake Factory. Undefeated at condescending to regular folks. Will always be known for a presidency that ushered in the Trump era to begin with.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) October 25, 2026 [2]
The remarks referenced several projects underway at the White House, including a new ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden and a new helipad. Bessent responded by choosing the restaurant caught in the middle of Obama’s routine as his lunch destination.
Bessent also had his own architectural comparison ready for the Obama Presidential Center. His answer shifted attention from Trump’s White House projects to the appearance and escalating projected cost of Obama’s center in Chicago.
“This is the man who built the museum, and it looks like Darth Vader’s tomb,” Bessent said. “I had a great meal. I always have a great meal, and I would tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try.”
Asked by FOX Business what he ordered, Bessent said he had a French dip cheeseburger. He described that selection as his typical order when visiting the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on President Obama mocking the Cheesecake Factory:
“This is the man who built the museum and it looks like Darth Vader’s tomb.”
Bessent also told @FoxBusiness’ @FBNNicoleMac he frequents the Cheesecake Factory and always orders the French dip cheeseburger — and suggested the “Martha’s Vineyard set” should “give it a try.”
— Chase Williams (@ChaseWilliams_) October 26, 2026 [3]
The Treasury secretary’s jab landed as the Obama Presidential Center continues to face criticism over its design. Some critics have labeled the structure the “Obamalisk” because of the appearance of its 225-foot, granite-clad tower.
The project has also attracted scrutiny over its soaring projected price tag. The center’s estimated cost has climbed from an original projection of $350 million to more than $1 billion.
That construction budget does not include every public expense associated with the center. Taxpayers have faced hundreds of millions of dollars in related public infrastructure costs that remain separate from the Obama Presidential Center’s construction budget.
Obama’s Cheesecake Factory crack was aimed at Trump’s gold décor and renovation choices, but Bessent used the same restaurant to answer the former president. The lunch provided both a visual response and a platform for Bessent’s “Darth Vader’s tomb” comparison.
.@ScottJenningsKY from the TOP ROPE torches Barack Obama & Bill Clinton n the Cheesecake Factory debate:
Jennings: “First of all, Liberace’s bathroom. Bill Clinton turned the Oval Office into Hugh Hefner’s bedroom, and he’s out here criticizing Donald Trump.”
Van Jones: Ba-dum tssss!!!!
Jennings: “Number two, has anybody seen Barack Obama’s presidential library, and he’s got design critiques for Donald Trump.
Number three, this was a totally unserious speech by someone who can’t get over one thing, that his presidency will be, will be remembered for, ruining healthcare and then ushering in the Trump years. That’s all Barack Obama gave the country. He’s been lashing out emotionally ever since. He campaigns every year on the same tired jokes, and it’s not gonna work.”
WOW. Scott Jennings just eviscerated Obama’s Cheesecake Factory dig.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 27, 2026 [4]
Bessent has remained a staunch defender of the Trump administration’s agenda and has repeatedly fired rhetorical shots at its critics. His response to Obama followed another recent exchange involving Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and her concerns about the Treasury Department.
Responding to a letter from Warren, Bessent wrote, “Rather than take my suggestion of studying introductory economics, you have continued your letter-writing crusade and participation in tabloid fodder about the Treasury Department.”
Bessent’s restaurant visit came on the same Monday that he announced Operation Economic Outcast. The Trump administration effort is intended to pressure nations into cutting their economic relationships with Iran.
The Obama exchange, however, centered squarely on competing architectural insults. Obama compared Trump’s renovated White House to a Cheesecake Factory opened by Saddam Hussein, while Bessent compared Obama’s presidential center to the tomb of the most famous villain in the “Star Wars” films.
Trump’s Ballroom vs. Obama’s Billion-Dollar Bunker https://t.co/mtWj5Cefvw
— Gutfeld! (@Gutfeldfox) October 27, 2026 [5]