Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried and failed to riff on Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory comments after a Fox Business reporter just happened to spot him outside the chain restaurant on Monday.
On Saturday, Obama joked that Trump’s gold-heavy renovations “has got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
What was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek joke was pounced on by the MAGA world.
In an attempt at a clip-worthy moment, Bessent stuttered and “uh”-d his way through a comment as he stood outside a Cheesecake Factory near the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., attempting to humiliate the former president as being out of touch with everyday Americans.
“This is the man who built the, uh, museum that looks like Darth Vader’s tomb, and I would just tell the—I had a great meal, always have a great meal—I would tell the Martha’s Vineyards set to give it a try,” Bessent said, referencing the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago and the former president’s place on Martha’s Vineyard.
Before becoming the Treasury secretary, Bessent was an investor and hedge fund manager worth as much as $600 million, according to his financial disclosures. He remains one of the richest members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
While Bessent might not be part of the “Martha’s Vineyard set” like the Obamas, he has had an extensive property portfolio that has included places in South Carolina, Florida and Manhattan. He has also dined at highly exclusive D.C. restaurants like Revler’s Hour, where menu prices peak at hundreds of dollars.
The Fox Business reporter who bumped into Bessent after his Monday lunch at The Cheesecake Factory asked him what he had.
“What I always have: the French Dip Cheeseburger,” he said. “It was a great lunch.”
Bessent’s attempt to appear as the everyman may have backfired further—the French dip cheeseburger, which is described as a “Charbroiled Cheeseburger Served on a Toasted Brioche Roll with Grilled Onions, Sriracha Mayo and Au Jus for Dipping,” is one of the “Glamburgers” on the menu and listed at a pricey $22.95.
Bessent later tried another go at appearing like a normie.
“I recommend the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls,” Bessent wrote, tagging Obama in the post.
Those are only $14.95, but it is unclear whether the Treasury secretary ordered those in addition to the fancy cheeseburger that he “always” has on his Monday outing.
