commentary

The president’s love of kitsch once charmed his base. Now it’s finally failing him

Published October 28, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)

President Donald Trump has lashed out at former President Barack Obama for comparing the White House redecoration to a Cheesecake Factory (Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Saul Loeb / Chip Somodevilla / LPETTET)

As soon as former president Barack Obama described Donald Trump’s aesthetic assault on the White House as “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” the current president did what he does best: seethe. Ever since Obama’s weekend joke at an Ohio rally, Trump has been complaining non-stop. On Sunday, he posted on Truth Social that Obama was “a grossly incompetent President” and accused him of “campaigning for a Muslim Brotherhood Jihadist.” The following day, he told reporters that Obama is “not a smart guy.”

At a campaign rally to shore up Sen.…