Former President Obama criticizes White House response to joke — The Hill

Former US President Barack Obama, speaking at a campaign rally in the US state of Georgia, criticized the White House’s response to his joke about the interior of President Donald Trump’s residence. He said the administration paid more attention to the remark than to the problem of inflation, The Hill reports.

Dispute over White House decor

Earlier, at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, Obama joked that after the renovations, the White House looked as if Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory there, because there was so much gold everywhere. He was referring to the gold-colored decor for which, according to the outlet, Iraqi palaces were known.

Trump responded to the criticism during his own campaign trip. He called Cheesecake Factory a successful company and said Obama did not see the dirt, neglect and damaged elements of the building. The president also called Obama a bad president.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Inflation as a campaign issue

Obama, who spoke in support of Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, said prices had risen so much that many Americans found it difficult to afford going to a restaurant. In his view, this is what the administration should be dealing with, rather than responding to a joke.

The former president also noted that the administration, he said, did not dispute his claims about responsibility for rising prices. He mentioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who, after Obama’s joke, mocked him outside a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Washington.

Trump initiated a large-scale renovation of the Rose Garden, the construction of a granite helicopter landing pad on the White House South Lawn, as well as changes to the decor and the installation of signs in gold tones. Obama had previously put the reported cost of the upgrades at about $900 million.