Trump’s AI slop and Cheesecake Factory fixations reveal his true weakness in midterms homestretch

With the midterms days away, President Donald Trump appears to be spending his time in an insulated bubble while his campaign message wanders. The New York Times reports that he stays in a dining room taking in flattering coverage and AI videos supplied by Bill Pulte, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency but is described by one Washington insider as a court jester. Meanwhile Trump has been trading barbs with Barack Obama, who told an Ohio crowd that the White House's redecoration looked like a Cheesecake Factory designed by Saddam Hussein. The administration answered by portraying Obama as an elitist, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted that he always orders the French dip cheeseburger at the chain. Trump then told a Mississippi audience that Obama does not "understand cleanliness." The Independent's columnist argues the response is muddled, noting Trump also said at a rally that the Iran war is making the country a fortune on oil, a remark his own team had urged him to avoid. Polling suggests the public has little appetite for his enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey found 57% see it as harmful to society, and two-thirds oppose new data centers.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →