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Former President Barack Obama mocked President Donald Trump’s White House renovations Saturday, comparing the historic residence to a Cheesecake Factory run by Saddam Hussein while campaigning for Democrats in Ohio.
Obama delivered the jab during a Cleveland rally supporting Democrat gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, criticizing Trump’s priorities just 10 days before the midterm elections.
“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.”
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Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally at Cleveland Public Auditorium on Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. Obama took a swipe at President Trump’s White House renovations Saturday, despite documented practical uses for the upgrades to the property. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Obama rattled off Trump’s ballroom project, Rose Garden makeover and South Lawn helipad before taking aim at the president’s affinity for gold décor.
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama quipped.
The renovations, however, include several functional upgrades to the White House grounds.
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Tables and chairs in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. Trump ordered updates to the Rose Garden in March. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Rose Garden’s former central lawn was replaced with limestone paving in 2025, creating a patio for outdoor events, speeches and entertaining, while the traditional roses were retained around the perimeter.
Trump also unveiled an upgraded granite White House helipad featuring the presidential seal in September. Official White House photographs show Marine One landing on and departing from the new facility during a Sept. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The administration’s ballroom project is intended to provide permanent, secure space for large official events, addressing a longstanding reliance on temporary tents for major White House functions. A National Park Service environmental assessment notes that the need for expanded event space was identified in a White House planning document dating to 2000.
Obama’s swipe at Trump’s White House makeover comes as his own presidential center in Chicago has faced criticism over its imposing, granite-clad tower, which some critics have dubbed the ‘Obamalisk,’ along with ballooning construction costs and years of delays.
The Obama Presidential Center’s projected price tag has surpassed $1 billion, nearly triple its original $350 million estimate, according to previous Fox News Digital reporting. Subcontractors have alleged they are owed millions for their work, while taxpayers have been saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in associated public infrastructure costs separate from the center’s construction budget.
Obama’s criticism extended beyond the presidential residence to Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, which the former president blamed for higher energy costs.
“Most importantly, he decided to start an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for,” Obama said.
He also defended the nuclear agreement negotiated during his presidency.
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Trump gave a tour of the White House Ballroom construction to the press on (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons because I had put a deal in place that everybody knows kept them from getting nukes,” Obama claimed.
Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement in 2018, arguing that its temporary nuclear restrictions were insufficient and that it failed to adequately address Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional militant terror groups.
The agreement offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear restrictions and international inspections. Inspectors reported some Iranian compliance before the U.S. withdrawal, although Iran subsequently expanded uranium enrichment beyond the deal’s proposed limits.
Obama also accused Trump of pursuing policies that increased consumer costs, criticizing immigration enforcement as he urged Ohio voters to hold Republicans accountable.
Acton faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor’s race, while Brown is challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
The former president carried Ohio in both 2008 and 2012, but the state has backed Trump in his three presidential campaigns.
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Fox News Digital contacted the White House for comment on Obama’s remarks.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
