Trump hits back at Obama’s Cheesecake Factory joke: ‘He doesn’t understand’

President Donald Trump used an outsize portion of his Monday rally in Corinth, Mississippi, to push back on criticism former President Barack Obama made of the White House renovations.On Saturday, Obama rallied for Democratic Senate nominee Sherrod Brown in Cleveland, Ohio, where he claimed that Trump’s ballroom passion project, and subsequent additions to the White House grounds, looked as if Saddam Hussein designed a Cheesecake Factory.Trump, himself campaigning for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) on Monday, claimed Obama’s criticisms were an illustration of why he was, in Trump’s mind, a failed president. “I always build beautiful and inexpensive, which is a good combination if you can do, but I can do it naturally. It’s a natural thing. It actually relaxes me,” he suggested.“He said, ‘This isn’t a Cheesecake Factory.’ Can you believe it? Which is a very successful company,” Trump added. “He doesn’t like successful companies. But you know, he was very critical about me because I spend time. And if you would have seen the White House, I took over the White House, and it was in horrible condition. I don’t want to use a terrible word. It was in horrible condition.”Trump proceeded to defend the White House renovation for an additional five-odd minutes before delivering Obama a message directly.“The White House is a symbol of America, and when it’s dirty, filthy, dirty, and broken, when the windows are cracked, when the exterior monument — they call them monuments on the outside — when they’re good on one side but missing on the other side of a window, people notice that,” he claimed. “I would try and explain that to a guy like Obama, but he wouldn’t understand. He doesn’t understand. The White House has to be clean, pristine, beautiful.”Immediately following Trump’s comments, a protester began shouting at the president.“Go home! Go home!” the president shouted back as the crowd chanted “USA.”TRUMP OFFERS $1 MILLION REWARD FOR TIPS RESULTING IN VOTER FRAUD CONVICTIONS“Isn’t that terrible? And I was just — I was just at the punch line too,” Trump riffed to his supporters. “They always do it. No, I was just at the punch line, talking about how our country must have a beautiful, pristine — it’s a symbol, the White House.”“These people are sick. For $250, he broke up my punch line, and it was a beautiful — we have to have a beautiful, beautiful, well-kept White House, the symbol of our country,” he added before continuing his remarks.