‘The View’ Host Alyssa Farah Griffin Laughs at GOP Outrage Over Obama’s Cheesecake Factory Joke: ‘Missed the Whole Point’

Skip to content “This has been the culture war of culture wars,” the ABC host marvels October 27, 2026 @ 9:44 AM Alyssa Farah Griffin on "The View" (Credit: ABC) President Trump and his allies continue to be outraged over former president Barack Obama’s joke about the current aesthetic of the White House, rushing to defend The Cheesecake Factory this week. It made “The View” host Alyssa Farah Griffin laugh on Tuesday, pointing out that the president “missed the whole point” of said joke. In case you missed the joke itself, it came during a midterm campaign stop by Obama. He joked that Trump’s preferred gold ornamentation has the White House looking like “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” The punchline had the president himself arguing that Obama “doesn’t like successful companies” like The Cheesecake Factory, and other Republicans posting photos of themselves at the restaurant. “This has been the culture war of culture wars,” Farah Griffin marveled. “How dare Obama denigrate the beloved Cheesecake Factory? And it turned into this whole thing on the right. It’s like they all got their marching orders: ‘Cheesecake Factory, must defend it.’” Farah Griffin then explained that conservatives have agreed to claim the joke makes Obama “out of touch and elitist,” before reminding everyone that The Cheesecake Factory has long been considered a nice restaurant. What she took issue with was the perceived punchline itself. “He missed the whole point! The comparison was to Saddam Hussein!” she said with a laugh. “Why are we more offended on behalf of the Cheesecake Factory? What is going on?” Of course, in host Sara Haines’ opinion, “That tells you what you need to know.” “The View” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.