Why is the Cheesecake Factory at the center of the latest culture war?

A joke by former President Obama has gone viral and received backlash from the Trump administration as the issue of affordability looms large over next week's midterm elections.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1024x683+0+0/resize/1024x683!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F17%2F5b%2Fe7ad0f394e5ca990073747bcaa6b%2Fgettyimages-2213067117.jpg' alt='The Cheesecake Factory is seen on May 02, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.'/><p>A joke by former President Obama has gone viral and received backlash from the Trump administration as the issue of affordability looms large over next week's midterm elections.</p><p>(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6023106' />