Former US President Barack Obama ridiculed President Donald Trump’s policy decisions at a midterm campaign rally in Ohio saying the former real estate agent had “got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory”.

Obama tore into Trump’s priorities, including changes to the White House, at a time the public battled high gas prices at least partially caused by the US war against Iran that reached the eight-month mark.

The two-term Democrat president said Trump seemed more interested in home renovations than in lowering prices, and joked the former reality TV star should return to that world. Obama also attacked Trump’s war on Iran and a Republican advert in the Ohio governor race, a week before the midterm elections, telling voters that “enough is enough” and that voters don’t have to remain tied to Trump’s allies.

The White House jibe Obama said Trump seemed “very focused on home renovations” and that he “should be on HGTV”, a US TV channel known for its reality, lifestyle, and how-to programming focused on home improvement, real estate, and interior design.

Obama listed what he called Trump’s changes: a ballroom “bigger than the White House”, a paved-over Rose Garden, a helicopter pad on the South Lawn and gold “everywhere”. Obama said Trump has not delivered on his promise to cut costs.

Former President Barack Obama takes a swipe at President Trump’s White House renovations, joking that the president should have his own show.

“He is very focused on home renovation. He should be on HGTV,” Obama says, before mocking Trump’s ballroom project, changes to the Rose Garden and the amount of gold decor.

Obama even compares the look to Saddam Hussein opening a Cheesecake Factory, asking “What’s up with the gold?”October 25, 2026 Attack on the Ramaswamy advert Obama aimed most of his criticism at Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running an advert that features the estranged mother of his Democratic rival, Dr Amy Acton. Obama said Ramaswamy had shown “no line he will not cross”.

The ad aired by Ramaswamy’s campaign team, which has drawn bipartisan criticism, shows Acton’s estranged mother Donna Arthur calling the Democratic candidate a liar. The mother and daughter have been estranged since 1978, when Acton was 12 years old and removed from her mother’s custody after her stepfather was accused of sexually abusing her. Arthur remained married to the stepfather.

Trump warns of ‘another Epic Fury’; Iran responds amid fresh tensions Trump and Vice President J D Vance have defended the advert, while Ohio Republican leaders, including Governor Mike DeWine, have asked for it to be pulled. Acton told the crowd that “decency still matters”.

Obama on Iran and prices Obama said Trump’s war on Iran is “the reason why the price of just about everything is up”. He said Iran had no nuclear weapons because of his 2015 deal, which he reached through diplomacy and “without firing a missile”.

‘Cruelty’ and lack of ‘decency’: Obama slams Ramaswamy ad featuring rival’s mother Under that deal, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment and accept inspections in return for relief from sanctions. Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018. Obama said Iran now has “veto power over the Strait of Hormuz”, the route oil takes to the world market.

What Obama told voters Obama said the country has Trump for two more years, but voters are not tied to his allies. He criticised a “spineless Congress” and Republican governors, and said voters can say “enough is enough”. After Ohio, he was set to hold a rally in Michigan.

“We’re not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are handling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people,” Obama said. “After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence … you get a chance to say enough is enough.”