‘Mobilized whole-of-government response to that joke’: Obama mocks Trump over Cheesecake Factory jibe

Former US president Barack Obama has slammed President Donald Trump and the Republican Party for focusing on his joke about the White House makeover instead of addressing inflation, accusing the administration of mobilising the entire government to respond to his remarks.“They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke,” Obama said at a campaign rally in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, in the final week of the US midterm election campaign.“This is what I mean when I say these are not serious people. They don’t have solutions to actual problems, so they’d rather have the media and you talking about the Cheesecake Factory,” he added.Obama was referring to his recent remarks comparing Trump's gold-heavy White House renovations to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein opening a Cheesecake Factory. The former president had made the joke during a campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio, last week, drawing a sharp response from Trump.Trump, who has been travelling across the country to campaign for Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, hit back at Obama, calling him a “lousy president” and defending the restaurant chain as a “very successful company”.At Wednesday's rally, Obama said he had heard that Trump was unhappy with his remarks but argued that the administration's response had missed the bigger issue of rising prices facing American voters.“The guy who is trying to figure out how to lower inflation ... they told him he should hold a press conference in front of the Cheesecake Factory,” Obama said, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had mocked his comments outside a branch of the restaurant in Washington.Obama also defended his reference to the popular restaurant chain, saying he had frequently visited it while raising his two daughters.“I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory?” he said, adding that Chuck E. Cheese and California Pizza Kitchen had also been regular family destinations.Turning to the cost-of-living crisis, Obama said the administration should be more concerned about the rising cost of eating out and other expenses affecting Americans.The former president also recalled the controversy over a tan suit he wore during his presidency, saying, “I am old enough to remember when a president wearing a tan suit was a major national controversy.”Obama was in Georgia to campaign for Democratic senator Jon Ossoff, who is seeking re-election, and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, along with other Democratic candidates.Ossoff also attacked Trump during the rally, accusing him of leading a corrupt administration and warning that Democrats would hold the president accountable if they regained control of Congress.Bottoms, meanwhile, sought to draw a contrast with her Republican opponent, billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson, accusing him of putting wealthy interests ahead of taxpayers.The rally came as both Obama and Trump intensified their campaign appearances ahead of the midterm elections, with control of Congress and several key state races at stake.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.