‘Only a stupid person would run the country like that’: Trump slams Obama as ‘lousy president’ after White House renovation jibe

President Donald Trump addressed remarks from former President Barack Obama at a Monday night rally in Corinth, Mississippi. The comments from Obama had come during a campaign appearance over the weekend, where he compared the current White House renovations to the look of a Cheesecake Factory.

Trump told the crowd that Obama had described him as spending a lot of his time fixing up the White House. According to The Hill, he asked those in attendance, “Isn’t that a nice thing to do?”

He went on to note that Obama had said the building was not a Cheesecake Factory. Trump responded, “Can you believe it? Which is a very successful company. He doesn’t like successful companies,” and then highlighted the renovation work underway at the residence.

Trump details required upkeep for the White House as a national symbol

Earlier on Monday, while speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before continuing to Mississippi, Trump offered his view of Obama’s statements. He said the former president “doesn’t understand it because he’s not a smart guy.”

Trump continued by stating, “The way he ran the country, only a stupid person would run the country like that.” He described the White House as a symbol of America that must be kept in proper condition.

According to Trump, the building has to be painted, the exterior plaster cannot be falling off the walls, and the decorations and ornaments on the windows, which he called magnificent, cannot be intact on one side while falling off on the other. The renovation push has also hit legal trouble, as a judge halted Trump’s White House ballroom project.

He added, “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 concluded that calling the renovations a Cheesecake Factory “just shows why you were a lousy president.”

Obama had made the original comparison on Saturday in Cleveland. He said Trump has the White House “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory, it’s just gold everywhere.”

The former president also remarked, “He seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV.” Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi palaces were famously adorned with gold fixtures and decor.