Joy Behar mocked Donald Trump and his administration after Barack Obama turned a Cheesecake Factory joke into a fresh political talking point.
The former president had compared the gold-heavy Oval Office decor to something that looked as though “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” prompting criticism from Trump’s camp and a response from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Joy Behar mocks Donald Trump’s team over Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory joke
Obama later revisited the controversy during another campaign appearance and joked about how seriously the administration had taken his remark.
In a clip aired on The View, Obama said the White House had focused more attention on his Cheesecake Factory comparison than on his comments about rising prices.
“They mobilized a whole of government response to that joke,” Obama said.
Behar quickly took aim at Bessent, who had appeared outside a Washington, D.C., Cheesecake Factory as part of the response.
As per OK!, she questioned why a wealthy treasury secretary would visit the restaurant while trying to portray Obama as out of touch.
“You can’t even make it up anymore,” Behar said, treating the episode as another example of political theater.
Sara Haines also criticized the reaction. She pointed out that Trump had repeatedly referred to Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama,” arguing that he clearly understood the Saddam Hussein reference but still focused on the restaurant comparison.
Haines said voters cared more about everyday expenses, declaring, “It’s the price of beer!”
Alyssa Farah Griffin also used the Donald Trump Cheesecake Factory controversy to criticize the administration’s priorities. She said Trump’s team had shown skill at creating messages for conservative audiences and producing fast social media content, but questioned its ability to address issues such as inflation, fuel costs and the war in Iran.
Sunny Hostin called the administration “deeply unserious” and compared Bessent’s Cheesecake Factory appearance to Rudy Giuliani’s 2020 press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
The Barack Obama Cheesecake Factory joke ultimately gave The View panel plenty of material, with Behar and her co-hosts using the controversy to question how Trump’s team handled political criticism.
