The White House has employed an artificial intelligence-generated menu, styled after The Cheesecake Factory, to highlight perceived accomplishments of the Trump administration. The move comes in response to a past jab from former President Barack Obama, who described the Trump White House as resembling "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." This tactic mirrors a "Saturday Night Live" cold open from April 2025, which also featured a Cheesecake Factory menu to satirize Trump.
In the sketch, comedian James Austin Johnson, portraying Trump, uses a large menu to present his administration's actions. The recent White House social media post features an AI-generated menu replacing typical restaurant items with phrases like "dismantle DEI." Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was noted to have visited a Cheesecake Factory location in Washington, D.C., for a meal on Monday, which was shared by the White House via social media.
The White House also released an AI-generated video on Tuesday depicting an animated Trump waving outside the restaurant, with a list of actions to "dismantle DEI" displayed on screen. This ongoing exchange appears to stem from Obama's initial comment, which reportedly irritated Trump and his administration.