Obama Mocks Trump’s White House Renovations at Ohio Rally Ahead of Midterms

Former President Barack Obama used a Saturday rally in Cleveland to ridicule President Donald Trump’s changes to the White House and to criticize his handling of the conflict with Iran, Fox News reported. The event was meant to boost Ohio Democrats 10 days before the midterm elections.

Obama was campaigning for Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Sherrod Brown, the party’s Senate candidate.

What Obama said about the renovations

According to Fox News, Obama said Trump seems intensely focused on home improvements and suggested he belongs on HGTV. He listed the ballroom project, the Rose Garden makeover and the South Lawn helipad, and then turned to Trump’s taste for gold décor. His sharpest line likened the result to “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

Fox News noted that the work includes practical upgrades. It reported that the Rose Garden’s central lawn was replaced with limestone paving in 2025, creating a patio for outdoor events and speeches, while the traditional roses were kept around the edges. A granite helipad bearing the presidential seal was unveiled in September, and Fox cited White House photographs of Marine One using it at a Sept. 21 ribbon-cutting.

Fox also said the administration’s ballroom is intended to provide permanent, secure space for large official events, replacing the temporary tents used until now. It cited a National Park Service environmental assessment, which says the need for more event space was identified in a White House planning document from 2000. Fox News Digital said it contacted the White House for comment on Obama’s remarks.

Iran, energy costs and consumer prices

Obama also criticized Trump over Iran. Fox News reported that he blamed the conflict for higher energy costs and called it an unnecessary war that nobody asked for or voted for. He defended the nuclear agreement reached during his presidency, claiming that Iran had no nuclear weapons because the deal kept them from getting one.

Fox reported that Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement in 2018. Trump argued that its nuclear restrictions were only temporary and that it did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its support for regional militant groups. According to Fox, the deal offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear limits and international inspections. Inspectors reported some Iranian compliance before the U.S. withdrawal, though Iran later expanded uranium enrichment beyond the limits proposed in the deal.

Obama further accused Trump of pursuing policies that have raised costs for consumers, and he criticized immigration enforcement as he urged Ohio voters to hold Republicans accountable.

What this means for Ohio voters

The rally put two of Ohio’s most closely watched races in front of a national audience. Acton is running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, and Brown is challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

The state’s recent record is mixed. Fox News noted that Obama carried Ohio in 2008 and 2012, while the state has backed Trump in each of his three presidential campaigns. For Ohio voters, the speech offered a preview of the argument Democrats are making in the final stretch: that costs, the Iran conflict and the president’s priorities should weigh on how Republicans are judged at the ballot box.

The statements in the speech, including Obama’s claims about the Iran deal and about the causes of higher energy costs, are the former president’s characterizations, as reported by Fox News.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Fox News