Obama doubles down on ‘Cheesecake Factory’ joke after criticism from Trump

(AP) — Former President Barack Obama is pushing back on Republicans’ reactions to a recent quip he made about President Donald Trump’s White House renovations and decor.

Obama said Trump’s gold accents looked like “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

“These are not serious people. They don’t have solutions to actual problems,” Obama said in Georgia, pushing back on criticism he received for his comments. He said Republicans would rather have “phony outrage” and “talk about the Cheesecake Factory.”

Republicans painted Obama’s comment as insulting to middle-class Americans who enjoy the restaurant.

But Obama name-checked middle-class establishments he’s patronized with his daughters, including the California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory and Chuck E. Cheese.

He said it’s telling that the White House did not dispute his main argument that Trump cares about trivialities, not helping Americans.

“The president wasn’t even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison,” Obama said. “That part didn’t bother him. But he was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory.”