Former President Barack Obama has struck a nerve with President Trump.
Mr. Trump took time from campaign issues to defend his fixation on remodeling the White House in his second term on Monday after Mr. Obama jabbed that “he’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
Mr. Trump spoke for several minutes about the remark on his way to a campaign swing in Mississippi, then delivered an extensive aside there on the White House ballroom, helipad and other projects. He was in the solidly Republican state, which has been shifting toward Democrats, as part of his swing through ruby red America to shore up candidates ahead of the midterms.
Mr. Trump, whose approval ratings are at record lows, at times insisted he had spent “very little time” on redesigning the White House, parts of which he has demolished to make way for the new ballroom. But he also defended his focus on the renovations and eventually conceded that “I have fun doing it.”
“It actually relaxes me,” Mr. Trump said in Corinth, asserting he was actually “fixing up the White House.” He added, to cheers from the supportive crowd, “Isn’t that a nice thing to do?”
Even allies and aides inside the White House have conceded that with the war in Iran grinding on, gas prices at uncomfortable highs and Americans chafing at the rising cost of living, Mr. Trump is finding reprieve by focusing on ornate renovation projects in the nation’s capital, chief among them his effort to remake the White House in his image.
