Obama reveals what he thinks about Trump’s $900 million spending for White House renovation: ‘like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory’

Obama took aim at President Trump during a campaign event in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, where he spent much of his time joking about the current administration’s focus on White House renovations, The Hill reports. The former president, who remains the only public official with a positive favorability rating in the state according to a recent Bowling Green State University poll, did not hold back on his thoughts regarding the spending.

Obama pointed to the over $900 million in construction projects currently happening at the White House. He suggested that the president is spending too much time on home improvements instead of addressing the issues that voters actually care about. He joked that the president belongs on a home improvement network rather than in the Oval Office.

When discussing the heavy use of gold in the new design choices, Obama said, “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” This is not the first time he has poked fun at these specific redecorations, as he previously made similar comments on the HBO Max show Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.

The former president also turned his attention to Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to drain the swamp

Obama compared that slogan to the actual state of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which recently underwent a major renovation. The project ended up with green algae growth and peeling paint after a no-bid contract led to issues with the work. Obama noted, “Remember that whole thing about drain the swamp? The only thing that got drained was the Reflecting Pool in the National Mall after some no-bid contract got it all messed up.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also became a target during the speech. Obama criticized the recent focus on the physical appearance and hormone levels of military personnel. Hegseth has pushed for testosterone screenings for service members under 30 and has frequently spoken about military culture.

Obama questioned the priorities of the defense secretary, asking, “How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking at himself in the mirror in the morning?” He added that the official seems very focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops.

The conversation shifted toward economic concerns when Obama addressed the trade war with Canada. He expressed confusion over the choice of target, noting that Canada is not exactly a hostile nation. He said, “The big trade war he’s started now is with that well-known evil empire, Canada. I mean these are the people who gave us maple syrup and Martin Short.”

Finally, Obama addressed a controversial attack ad released by gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The advertisement featured the estranged mother of his opponent, Amy Acton. While President Trump and Vice President Vance supported the commercial, Obama expressed strong disapproval of the tactic.

He stated, “There’s a decency that we should expect out of our public officials. And I don’t know what’s happened where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody could run an ad like that.” He finished his thought by saying, “No office is worth stooping that low.”