Vice President JD Vance ripped Barack Obama as “super elitist” after the former president mocked President Trump’s White House décor.
Vance, 40, unloaded on Obama during a Fox News town hall in Texas Thursday night hosted by Jesse Watters. The event came days after Obama likened the current administration’s aesthetic to a chain restaurant opened by a deceased dictator.
“I didn’t fully get it. I kind of like the Cheesecake Factory,” Vance said of Obama’s comparison. The vice president argued the remark revealed something deeper about the former president’s instincts.
“I think it’s like a good example of how Obama, without even trying to be, just can’t help himself from being super elitist,” he continued.
Vance then reached back to a 2008 campaign controversy to bolster his case. “Remember, this is the guy who said that people who wanted good jobs were ‘clinging to their guns and their religion,’ as if God and the Second Amendment were something to be ashamed of,” he added.
The Ohio Republican contended that Obama had accidentally exposed a broader Democratic problem. In attempting to mock Trump, Vance said Obama “drove home how divorced the Democrats are from actual Americans.”
Obama had delivered the original barb Saturday while campaigning for Democrats in Ohio. The former president accused Trump of prioritizing home improvements over governing.
“I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations,” Obama said. “He should be on HGTV.”
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Watters flagged a seeming shift from Obama during a Wednesday rally in Atlanta. There, the former president insisted that as “the father of two daughters,” the Cheesecake Factory was “my jam for about a decade.”
Vance seized on that clarification. “See, that’s exactly the point, though … he realized, ‘Oh, a lot of the people we want to vote for us actually like the Cheesecake Factory,'” he explained.
The vice president then mounted an unexpected defense of the restaurant itself. The establishment is “the weirdest restaurant to hate on,” he argued.
“The menu is like 75 pages long, so there’s something for everybody,” Vance joked.
He kept going. “I just don’t understand. Like, there are restaurants I can imagine beating up on – not the Cheesecake Factory,” he said. “Leave us alone, Barack!”
Watters closed the exchange with his own zinger, joking that the network’s next town hall will be held inside a Cheesecake Factory.
The decor dispute traces to Trump’s extensive renovations of the White House residence and Oval Office, which have drawn notice for their gilded, ornate style. Obama made the comparison while urging Ohio voters to support Democratic candidates, using the remark to paint Trump as self-absorbed and out of touch with ordinary concerns. The Cheesecake Factory, a casual-dining chain known for its sprawling menu and elaborate interiors, has long occupied a particular place in American food culture—affordable enough for family outings yet substantial enough to carry a hint of occasion.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Mississippi on Friday.