A single Obama joke comparing Trump's White House style to “Saddam Hussein opening a Cheesecake Factory” dominated Republican messaging in the final stretch of the election, the report says.
Trump and allies amplified the jab instead of moving on — raising it at rallies, posting from the White House account and sending Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, worth at least $500 million, to praise the chain on camera.
The column argues the Hussein reference was the real political strike, tying Trump's gold-heavy renovations and self-image to authoritarian excess while voters face inflation, a weak economy and war concerns.
That response, rather than rebutting Obama's broader point, kept attention on decor and elitism claims for days and crowded out the campaign's preferred message to cost-conscious voters.