By Karim Hammam
President Donald Trump's fixation on AI-generated content and a petty feud over the Cheesecake Factory reveal his weakening position days before the midterm elections, according to analysis published Thursday, 29 October 2026.
White House AI Environment
A New York Times report describes Trump as cocooned in a media environment of his own making, spending time locked in a dining room where he consumes flattering news and gets fed AI videos for social posting from Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who has morphed into what one DC insider called a "court jester" producing memes and AI-generated imagery to boost the president's spirits.
Cheesecake Factory Feud
The controversy erupted after Barack Obama joked at an Ohio rally that Trump's White House renovations made it look like "Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory." The administration responded by portraying Obama as an out-of-touch elitist, prompting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — a former hedge fund manager worth an estimated $600 million — to tweet that he "always" orders the French dip cheeseburger at the chain. Trump later undermined his own team's messaging at a Mississippi stop, insisting the White House "has to be pristine" and claiming Obama "doesn't understand cleanliness," contradicting the narrative that Obama is a snob who hates everyday restaurants.
Poll Numbers on AI
Public sentiment runs counter to Trump's embrace of unchecked AI development. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found 57% of Americans view AI as bad for society, two-thirds oppose new data centers, and 67% disapprove of Trump's handling of the technology. An AP-NORC poll showed 64% believe AI is developing too quickly, with broad bipartisan agreement that government should prioritize human control and protect workers from job losses.
MAGA and Synthetic Media
The MAGA movement's longstanding distrust of photographs, videos, and official accounts collides with AI's ability to fabricate evidence. As synthetic media proliferates, the movement that once benefited from blurring fact and fiction now faces an industrial quantity of synthetic nonsense it cannot control, leaving the president himself obsessed with the very unreality he helped create.
Trump's Campaign Trail Behavior
On the trail, Trump deployed bizarre performances, including odd hand and mouth gestures imitating Texas Representative James Talarico supposedly vomiting after eating meat — a claim Talarico denies. Asked about potential impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump claimed Democrats "talk about impeaching everybody" and threatened reciprocal action, though impeachment articles against Hegseth were introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, and the administration has no Democratic officials to impeach.
