前总统奥巴马对“芝士蛋糕工厂”的一番调侃，随着竞争激烈的选举周期接近尾声，迅速演变成共和党与民主党之间的中期选举争执。
A Cheesecake Factory jab from former President Obama quickly spiraled into a midterm spat between the GOP and Democrats as the competitive election cycle nears its end.
奥巴马近日在克利夫兰的一场竞选活动上打趣说，特朗普总统让白宫“看起来像是萨达姆·侯赛因开了一家芝士蛋糕工厂，到处都是金灿灿的”。据《华盛顿邮报》报道，他的这番话指的是特朗普据称耗资9亿美元的白宫翻修工程，包括对玫瑰园进行昂贵改造，以及修建一个新的花岗岩直升机停机坪。侯赛因的伊拉克宫殿同样以金色装置和装饰闻名。
Obama quipped during a recent campaign stop in Cleveland that President Trump has the White House “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory, it’s just gold everywhere.”His remarks referred to Trump’s reported $900 million renovations to the White House, including pricey updates to the Rose Garden and constructing a new granite helipad, according to the Washington Post. Hussein’s Iraqi palaces were also famously adorned with gold fixtures and decor.
“我们必须向奥巴马解释，白宫是美国的象征，必须得到妥善维护，”特朗普周一在前往密西西比州途中于马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地对记者说。
“We have to explain to Obama that the White House is a symbol of America, and it has to be maintained properly,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to Mississippi Monday.
“它必须粉刷，外墙的灰泥不能从墙上脱落，窗户上那些华丽的装饰和饰件不能一边有、另一边却掉下来，”他继续说道。
“It has to be painted, and the exterior plaster can’t be falling off the walls, and the decorations and the ornaments on the windows that are magnificent can’t be on one side of the window and falling off on the other side,” he continued.
“这不是钱的问题。这是关于视野的问题。像奥巴马这样的人看不到这一点。他看不到污垢，看不到肮脏，看不到建筑物上破碎的装饰品，”特朗普回击前总统说。“你说那是一家芝士蛋糕工厂，这恰恰说明了你为什么是个糟糕的总统。”
“It’s not about money. It’s about seeing. Guys like Obama don’t see it. He doesn’t see dirt, he doesn’t see filth, he doesn’t see broken ornaments on a building,” Trump fired back at the former president. “For you to say it was a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.”
白宫在社交平台X上的账号也加入了进来，发布了一份经过篡改的芝士蛋糕工厂菜单，吹捧特朗普政府的政策，其中包括标有“边境安全特别套餐”和“美国能源盛宴”的项目。
The White House’s account on social platform X also joined in, posting a doctored Cheesecake Factory menu touting Trump administration policies including items labeled “The Border Security Special” and “The American Energy Feast.”
“既然我们谈论的是芝士蛋糕工厂，”它写道。“唯一比菜单更大的就是特朗普总统的成就清单。”
“Since we’re talking about The Cheesecake Factory,” it wrote. “The only thing bigger than the menu is the list of President Trump’s accomplishments.”
这些交流迅速引起了双方的关注，福克斯新闻主持人玛莎·麦卡勒姆表示，奥巴马的笑话可能会在中期选举中产生后果，因为它“恰恰说明了为什么民主党人失去了中产阶级，为什么他们失去了蓝领选民”。“因为这是一种关于枪支和宗教的言论，这让这个国家的许多人都反感，”她在福克斯新闻上表示。
The exchanges quickly drew attention from both sides as Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum said the Obama’s joke could have consequences in the midterm election as it “goes exactly to why Democrats lost the middle class, why they lost blue-collar voters.”“Because it’s kind of a guns and religion clinging kind of comment and it turns a lot of people in this country off,” she stated during an appearance on Fox News.
保守派播客克莱·特拉维斯也同样声称奥巴马的比较是“脱离现实的”。
Conservative podcast Clay Travis similarly claimed Obama was “out of touch” for making the comparison.
“Pod Save America”主持人乔恩·法夫罗反击道：“你真的认为那些认为芝士蛋糕工厂是一个高端餐厅，只适合特殊场合用餐的美国人，也会认为这家餐厅的设计如此之美，以至于总统应该为白宫效仿吗？”在这场争执中，财政部长珍妮特·耶伦和佛罗里达州共和党众议员兰迪·范恩周一被分别拍到在这家连锁餐厅用餐。芝士蛋糕工厂尚未立即回应《国会山报》的置评请求。
“Pod Save America” host Jon Favreau hit back, writing, “Do you honestly think that Americans who believe the Cheesecake Factory is a high end place to eat reserved for special occasions also think that the restaurant’s design is so beautiful that the President should copy it for the White House?”Amid the squabble, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) were separately spotted eating at the restaurant chain on Monday. The Cheesecake Factory did not respond immediately to The Hill’s request for comment.