President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama traded barbs on the campaign trail Wednesday, with Trump defending his White House renovations and touting his intelligence while Obama accused the administration of prioritizing political distractions over inflation and other problems facing Americans.
With Election Day less than a week away, the two presidents delivered competing messages in battleground states as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress and Democrats seek to capitalize on voter frustration over the economy.
Obama, campaigning in Georgia for Democrat Senate candidate Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, returned to his viral comparison of Trump’s White House renovations, which he said looked like if “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” He argued that the administration’s response to the joke illustrated its misplaced priorities.
“They did not deny tariffs were contributing to higher costs for families,” Obama said. “I accused this administration, based on the facts, that they were engaging in unprecedented levels of corruption. They didn’t say anything about that.”
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Obama then mocked the White House’s response to his remarks, claiming officials had mobilized a government-wide effort to address the joke rather than focus on economic concerns.
“They mobilized a whole of government response to that joke, not to inflation, but to that joke,” Obama said.
Trump slammed Obama while speaking at a rally in Ohio Wednesday night. The president mocked Obama’s record on the campaign trail, noting that the former president had campaigned for failed presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, both of whom lost their elections to Trump.
“I always worry when he campaigns against me because he got involved with Hillary Clinton,” Trump quipped. “Oh, and he lost. He then got involved with Kamala, and he lost.”
Obama also took aim at Trump’s renovations, including a planned ballroom, changes to the Rose Garden, a new helipad, and extensive gold decorations.
“He is spending time super gluing gold medallions to the mantle in the Oval Office,” Obama said. “He is literally doing arts and crafts while we are fighting a war and trying to deal with out of control prices.”
Trump defended the renovations on Wednesday night, telling his supporters they are necessary to preserve the White House, which he called a symbol of the United States. He argued that the building needed repairs and dismissed Obama’s criticism as evidence that the former president did not understand the importance of maintaining it.
“The White House, I think, is the number one symbol of our country, and we can’t have a White House with broken windows, with broken stone that hasn’t been painted in 30 years!” Trump said.
Trump later touted his performance on cognitive tests, claiming he was the only president to pass three of them and asserting that Obama would not have passed. “I’m a very high IQ person,” Trump said. “I’m the only president to pass without exception. I passed three cognitive tests.”
The exchange follows several days of controversy over Obama’s initial Cheesecake Factory remark. Trump allies accused the former president of elitism for using the restaurant chain as a punchline. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even visited a Cheesecake Factory in Washington, D.C., and defended the chain while criticizing Obama.
Obama pushed back against the idea that he was disparaging the restaurant, saying he had taken his daughters there throughout their childhood.
After blasting Trump for a large chunk of his speech, Obama complained about what he called a politics of division.
“I am tired of being angry, and I’m tired of being divided,” Obama said. “I want friendship, and neighborliness, and joy, and generosity.”
The competing appearances come as both parties make their final push before the November 3 midterms. Democrats are seeking to win control of the House and make gains in the Senate, while Republicans are relying on Trump’s campaigning to energize their voters and defend their congressional majorities.
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