Trump Defends Cheesecake Factory Stock After Obama Mockery
President Donald Trump defended his White House renovations and Cheesecake Factory stock holdings after former President Barack Obama mocked the decor as looking like a restaurant.
Financial disclosures reveal that Donald Trump traded shares of The Cheesecake Factory throughout 2025, with purchases totaling between $35,007 and $175,000. The revelation coincided with a public dispute sparked by former President Barack Obama, who joked during a campaign rally in Cleveland, Ohio, that Trump's gold-heavy White House renovations looked like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory."
Trump responded by defending his use of granite and marble in the Rose Garden and South Lawn, calling the restaurant "a very successful business" and labeling Obama a "lousy president." The conflict escalated as Obama, speaking later at a rally in Georgia, criticized the administration for mobilizing a "whole-of-government response" to a joke rather than addressing inflation and rising food prices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent further fueled the dispute by mocking Obama during a visit to a Cheesecake Factory in Washington.
Critics from American Bridge 21st Century accused Trump of promoting companies in which he holds financial interests, citing similar stakes in Intel, Nvidia, and Tesla. The White House denied any conflict of interest, asserting that independent managers control the president's portfolio and that neither Trump nor his family provides input on investment decisions.
