The Cheesecake Factory Isn’t the Symbol of Flyover America That Right-Wing Pundits Think It Is

3 min readIn the annals of October Surprises, wild-card events that stir the pot late in an election cycle, there never has been an entry as lame as the sudden appearance of the Cheesecake Factory Defense Coalition, now doing battle with the global elitist forces on a social media platform near you. Arise, ye tiramisu!I should explain. Former President Barack Obama went out to Ohio over the weekend and raised the roof on behalf of Democratic candidates Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton. He also told a joke. This was the joke."He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory."Obama got a huge laugh. (I would have said "looking like Saddam Hussein opened a cheap New Orleans whorehouse" but I don't have the former president's class.) But Xwitter erupted with conservative fauxtrage Almost every wing-nut, famous or not, chimed in. Obama showed himself as an over-read elitist liberal who doesn't know what Real 'Murkins do for relaxation.Steve Krakauer opined:This line is getting praise on X, but it’s actually elitist garbage written by a speechwriter who clearly hasn’t spent much time in a Cheesecake Factory, which has none of the gaudy Trump aesthetic, and just feels good to say because it represents flyover MAGA “night out.”(Cheesecake Factory was born in California, which is not a "flyover" anything unless you're going to Singapore.)CNN Suppurating Boil Scott Jennings was irked.Makes speeches for 500k a pop. Hasn’t eaten dinner that costs less than $250 in years. Has never been in a CheesecakeFactory. Undefeated at condescending to regular folks. Will always be known for a presidency that ushered in the Trump era to begin with.(Scott Jennings reportedly makes six figures a year to plague Abby Phillips' existence.)White House Village Idiot Laura Loomer barely managed to keep it together.Sorry Barrack Hussein, @BarackObama,Cheesecake Factory has good food and it’s a place Americans can afford.We can’t all be like you and big Mike. You know, with private 5 star chefs who end up drowning and dying while naked in 2 feet of water at our Martha’s Vineyard mansions.Ellie A. had my favorite reaction.This proves how out of touch the Democrats are with average Americans. I haven't eaten at Cheesecake Factory since 1993, but I know people that love it. Tens of millions of Americans eat at Cheesecake Factory every year. That's a fact.Nothing like endorsing a restaurant you haven't patronized in three freaking decades.But someone named Link Lauren managed to win Wing-nut Bingo.Barack Obama is nothing more than a Martha’s Vineyard elitist hack. Cheesecake Factory serves over 80 million meals a year to Americans. Not everyone can have caviar on the yacht with Clooney. And it’s funny he mentions Saddam Hussein. I guess he forgot his middle name is also Hussein. An odd name for a boy from “Hawaii.”How'd poor Clooney get dragged into this?Just for the record, there are seven Cheesecake Factories within driving distance of my abode in the People's Republic of Massachusetts, whereas there are no Cheesecake Factories in either Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, and seven other states. Also, a steak dinner at the Cheesecake Factory costs somewhere around $45. Given the Trump Economy, I suspect that’s not in the budget for most real ‘Murkins, who are presently paying four bucks a gallon at the pump.My grandfather introduced me to the joys of diners, or "lunch carts," as he called them. I revere him for that. But it doesn't mean I think there should be a long linoleum counter in the Oval Office, although that would be a step up from where we are now.