Bessent Defends White House Work, Orders $22.95 Burger at Cheesecake Factory

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ate lunch at a Cheesecake Factory near the White House on Monday.

Bessent, a former hedge fund manager whose net worth is estimated at around $600 million, said he ordered "what I always have: the French Dip Cheeseburger." The burger is listed at $22.95 at the downtown Washington location. He praised the meal and directed a comment at former President Barack Obama. "This is the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader's tomb," Bessent told a Fox Business reporter as he left the restaurant, referring to the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June. Bessent also wrote on X: "I recommend the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls." He added that he would tell "the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try," noting that Obama and his wife Michelle own an estate on the island.

The exchange started with Obama's remarks at an Ohio rally on Saturday. Speaking about President Donald Trump, Obama said: "He should be on HGTV!" and "He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." Obama was referring to Trump's renovation projects, which include gold leaf in the Oval Office, a helipad, and a ballroom that remains under construction. Trump defended the work on Monday before leaving for a campaign rally in Mississippi. "The White House is a symbol of America, and it has to be maintained properly," he said. "Guys like Obama don't see it. You don't see dirt. He doesn't see filth. He doesn't see broken ornaments on a building." He added: "For you to say it's a cheesecake factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president."

Republican commentator Matt Whitlock wrote on X: "Classic Obama snobbery." GOP pundit Scott Jennings called Obama "undefeated at condescending to regular folks" and said Obama "has never been in a Cheesecake Factory." Menswear influencer Derek Guy, who wrote on X that he grew up in a working-class immigrant family, pushed back. "We ate at Red Lobster and The Cheesecake Factory for 'fancy nights out,'" Guy wrote. "But even we understood that the White House should not look like the inside of a Red Lobster."

The dispute landed days before the Nov. 3 midterm election. Cheesecake Factory is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday.