Washington Secrets: Obama’s Cheesecake Factory zinger misses the point again

WASHINGTON SECRETS

BY ROB CRILLY

Welcome to Monday’s edition of Washington Secrets. There’s a new elitist test sweeping the nation, and it goes like this: When was the last time you were in a Cheesecake Factory? For Secrets, it was last month, as it happens. Plus, there’s no such thing as bad publicity when you are launching a book. And will a Trump endorsement get Netanyahu over the line in Israel?

Barack Obama was right about Cheesecake Factory, its decor, and Donald Trump. Yet he still clearly missed the point, just as Democrats have done ever since the New York property developer rode the golden escalator into American politics.

In case you missed it, the former president dinged his successor with a line of attack that suggested Trump’s obsession with gold leaf and remodeling the White Housemeant he could care less about ordinary, working families.

“What’s with the gold?” Obama asked while on the campaign trail this weekend. “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

The result is that a chain with a menu boasting 250 items and more than 30 cheesecake options found itself in the middle of the culture wars.

MAGA cheerleaders used it to dust off one of their favorite attack lines from elections gone by: that Obama was out of touch.

“Makes speeches for 500k a pop,” posted Scott Jennings, a Republican commentator and one of the leading candidates to be next White House press secretary. “Hasn’t eaten dinner that costs less than $250 in years. Has never been in a Cheesecake Factory. Undefeated at condescending to regular folks. Will always be known for a presidency that ushered in the Trump era to begin with.”

Evan Barker, a former Democratic strategist whose recent memoir is a list of bizarre wokery on the left, weighed in too.

“The coastal elites hate Americana,” Barker posted. “We know what they really think, and we know why they are so quickly defending Obama’s snobbery. They might think they are “too good” for the Cheesecake Factory, or find the decor to be tacky, but most regular Americans don’t.”

It is not hard to see what is going on.

Republicans are staring into the face of electoral wipeout and know they have a difficult message to sell, with an unpopular president, an unpopular war, and crippling fuel prices. Why not lean into the idea of the forgotten America that propelled Trump to power in the first place?

Democrats pushed back, defending the comment by pointing out the decor was part of the fun.

Amid the back-and-forth, Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter, no less, proudly proclaimed he was a longtime member of Cheesecake Rewards (and said his home looks like Gay Saddam Hussein opened a Soho House).

“The decor is famously and *purposefully* over the top – that is part of the fun! – the menu, the portions, it’s all a little extravagant, which is also reflected in the price,” heposted.

In other words, it’s a restaurant where “more is more” is the brand. Nothing wrong with that, he says. Trump has put “more is more” at the heart of his businesses and, over the past 10 years, turned it into a political philosophy.

Is it right for the White House?

The gold and the glitz might not be for Obama. But the current president’s larger-than-life persona and his billionaire credentials are at the heart of his aspirational appeal.

Secrets wonders whether there will be a presidential Cheesecake Factory visit in the near future.

You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at secrets@washingtonexaminer.com with your comments, story tips, and suggestions.

There’s nothing like a legal spat to sell your book

Have you been following the legal jousting around Matthew Cole’s new book, Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohammed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East? Interest in the title went through the roof when Vanity Fair published an excerptlast week, with extraordinary allegations that Trump’s son-in-law had access to secret foreign bank accounts containing about $2 billion during the president’s first term.

Cue threats of legal actionfrom Jared Kushner. He categorically denied the claims, and Chad Mizelle, his attorney, said Vanity Fair had published false information. Mizelle said he sent a 13-page letter to the magazine ahead of publication.

The Jerusalem Post removed its version of the story on Friday morning, saying it had found “significant factual questions” with the reporting, specifically around whether the Bank of Israel offered customer accounts, such as the one alleged to have been used by Kushner.

So how has Simon and Schuster, the publisher of the book, responded? By moving up publication day!

The book was originally due to be published on Tuesday but has been available for purchase since Sunday.

Quote of the day

While some Republican candidates in the midterm elections are trying to distance themselves from an unpopular president, one politician is leaning into his endorsement: Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting for his political life in Tuesday’s Israeli election.

“U.S. President Donald Trump has come with a friendship that has never existed ⁠before between an Israeli prime minister and an American president. And it is doubtful we will ever have such a friendly president again. He has another two years, and he says he is calling on you to vote for me.”

Lunchtime reading

Bob Woodward spills his “Secrets”: The advantage of being a rookie reporter when you land the scoop of your career is that you will likely outlive your sources. His new memoir is packed with all the details and promises to be a riveting read.

Viktor Orbán, UN secretary-general? Is the Trump administration intent on destroying the United Nations from within? And would France and the United Kingdom veto the selection of Hungary’s former autocratic leader?