Trump tried to bring the Cheesecake Factory into politics. Democrats dominated the districts with a restaurant

Republicans accused former President Barack Obama of “elitism” when he touched a nerve by comparing Donald Trump’s White House makeover to the aesthetic of a Cheesecake Factory, a beloved American institution famed for its extensive menu. But their attempts to generate uproar over Obama’s zinger didn’t land with voters come Election Day. The Bulwark did the math and found that Democrats won in more than 70 percent of districts with a Cheesecake Factory restaurant. “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory!” Obama quipped at an Ohio midterms campaign rally, prompting Trump to complain about the dig at his own MAGA rallies. “Can you believe it?” a rattled Trump told a crowd in Mississippi the week before the midterm elections. “For [Obama] to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory...that just shows why you were a lousy president,” he grumbled.The outlet’s analysis found there were 215 Cheesecake Factories across 50 states within 175 congressional districts using maps from the 2024 elections. Democrats held 108 of those seats. Using the maps from 2026 put the same Cheesecake Factory restaurants in 171 districts. By Thursday night, Democrats had won at least 124 of those districts, according to the analysis. Former president Barack Obama has had the last laugh in the Cheesecake Factory saga. Democrats won in more than 70 percent of districts with a restaurant, despite Republican efforts to generate anger over his joke (AP)Trump’s outrage only fueled more material for Obama, who kept running with the joke at midterm campaign rallies. “The president wasn’t even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison,” Obama said at a Georgia event last week. “That part didn’t bother him. But he was upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments.”He then highlighted another bizarre twist in the saga when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went to a Cheesecake Factory and held an impromptu press conference.“The White House even called the Secretary of the Treasury!” Obama said. “This is the man who is in charge of the economy, the person who’s supposed to be figuring out how to make your life more affordable, the guy who’s supposed to be figuring out how to lower inflation and reduce interest rates. They told him he should hold a press conference in front of the Cheesecake Factory!”MAGA fumed over Obama’s dig, claiming the remark was snobbish while trying to depict Democrats as being out-of-touch with average Americans. However, Democrat finger-pointing came as Trump joked that his own supporters could barely afford a meal at his Mar-a-Lago resort.‘He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory!’ Obama quipped at an Ohio midterms campaign rally, prompting Trump to complain about the dig at his own MAGA rallies (Getty)During a midterm rally in Texas, Trump discussed places Americans could spend their $5,000 “Trump dividend” — which he promised to send out if Republicans maintain control of Congress.“You could even come to Mar-a-Lago, I said it the other night,” he said. “The problem is that for $5,000, the most you'll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I'm not even sure you could buy that. No, don’t go there, that's not a good place if you’re price conscious.”Online commentators also noted the irony, with social media users noting, “Making fun of the decor at Cheesecake Factory was elitist...Bragging that the crowd wouldn’t be able to afford the food at his private club is, what exactly?”Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort, reportedly has a membership fee of $1 million.On election night, as White House staffers watched the grim results for their party pour in, some decided to order in from the Cheesecake Factory, according to Fox News. Isabel Keane contributed to this report