Former US President Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump’s ongoing renovation choices for the White House, saying Trump has "got the White House looking like former Iraq President Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” Obama made the comments while addressing an election campaign in Ohio for the midterms, per ANI.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV. The guy’s building a ballroom that’s bigger than the White House. Paved over the Rose Garden, put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn, and there’s gold everywhere! What’s up with the gold? Everything—more gold!” Obama said.
Obama drew laughter and loud applause when he added, “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. Just gold everywhere."
Obama later went on to rally voters behind key Democratic contenders in the state on social media.
{{/usCountry}}Obama later went on to rally voters behind key Democratic contenders in the state on social media.
{{/usCountry}}“Ohio, let's do what we can to elect @AmyActonOH as your next Governor and @SherrodBrown as your next U.S. Senator! They’ve dedicated their lives to fighting on behalf of all Ohioans,” Obama wrote on X.
“If we’re willing to organize and mobilize, if we’re willing to turn out in big numbers in Ohio and across this country, if we’re willing to vote for change and vote for Democrats up and down the ballot, then this election might just mark the moment this country began moving in a better direction,” he further said, adding, “So make a plan to vote today at IWillVote.com/OH.”
Barack Obama criticizes Donald Trump on the Iran war
In Ohio, Obama also called out Trump and Pete Hegseth for the Iran war.
"These are not serious people. They're not serious people. And the problem is you end up having to pay the price for their lack of seriousness," Obama said Saturday, October 24.
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"Let's think about this Iran war. The original rationale was, we're going to go in there and get them to give up their nuclear program, their nuclear weapons," he added. "Now, the thing was, Iran didn't have nuclear weapons, because I put a deal in place that everybody acknowledged — kept them from getting nukes. And I didn't have to fire a missile to do it; I just had to engage in diplomacy."
Obama was referencing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly called the Iran Nuclear Deal. The Middle Eastern country signed it in 2015 and Trump withdrew from it during his first term.
The deal focused on restricting Iran's nuclear program to ensure it was only using those materials for peaceful purposes in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump, however, reportedly argued while withdrawing from the deal in 2018 that it "allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and — over time — reach the brink of a nuclear breakout."
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"So seven months later, how's that war going?" Obama asked.
"Our allies and our bases have been attacked; Americans have been killed; hundreds of Americans have been wounded; we have, we've run down our stock of missiles," he said, though Trump has denied reports of munitions shortages. "And Iran now has veto power over the Strait of Hormuz, where oil goes through to the world market.
Obama added, "This is the reason why the price of oil is up. Nobody disputes that. This is reason the price diesel is up. This is why the reason the just about everything is up."
At one point, the former president also said that the US has a “defense secretary who’s squarely focused on important matters like the jawlines and testosterone levels of our troops.”