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Bessent comments on Obama's Cheesecake Factory remark outside a Washington restaurant

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).

4 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made remarks about former President Barack Obama outside a Cheesecake Factory in Washington on Monday, according to The Hill, CNBC and The Daily Beast. The remarks followed Obama’s Saturday comment that recent White House renovations made it look like Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory. The Hill reports Bessent saying Obama built a museum that looks like Darth Vader’s tomb. CNBC says the restaurant has become a campaign talking point before next week’s election. The Daily Beast says a Fox Business reporter spotted Bessent at the restaurant.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made remarks about former President Barack Obama outside a Cheesecake Factory in Washington on Monday.

    Reported byFar Left1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Center
    The Hill, CNBC

  2. Obama said on Saturday that recent White House renovations made the building look like Saddam Hussein had opened a Cheesecake Factory.

    Reported byFar Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Center
    The Hill

  3. Bessent said Obama built a museum that looks like Darth Vader’s tomb.

    One outletThe Hill· Center

  4. CNBC reported that the Cheesecake Factory has become a campaign talking point before next week’s election.

    One outletCNBC· Center

  5. A Fox Business reporter spotted Bessent outside the restaurant, according to The Daily Beast.

    One outletThe Daily Beast· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Bessent made remarks about Obama outside a Washington Cheesecake Factory on Monday. The center describes Bessent mocking Obama, the left calls the joke a failed stunt, and the right sees Obama humbled.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    The headline mocks Bessent as a wealthy Trump loyalist and calls his dinner a cosplay, presenting the remark as a failed and staged attempt at humor.

    Loaded modifier“Absurdly Rich”Adds a scornful adverb to a label for the official’s wealth, which is not needed to report the event.More neutral: wealthyDisagree with this highlight? Dehumanizing label“Trump Goon”Labels the official with a contemptible category before any conduct is established.More neutral: Trump administration officialDisagree with this highlight? Loaded verb“Cosplays”Suggests the dinner was fake and mocks the official’s sincerity.More neutral: dines atDisagree with this highlight? as Cheesecake Factory Fan
    The Daily BeastFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Headlines report Bessent mocking or slamming Obama at the restaurant, with the dinner as the setting and Obama’s joke as the trigger.

    Bessent mocks Obama outside Cheesecake Factory in DC
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    0 outlets · 1 opinion

    The only right-side item is a Far Right opinion piece whose headline says Obama was humbled and whose description calls him clueless, so no right-side news report is present.

    Bessent Serves Obama a Sensational language“Slice of Humble Pie”Presents Obama as humbled by a rival, which is the outlet’s own judgment rather than a reported event.More neutral: Bessent responds to Obama’s comparison of White House renovationsDisagree with this highlight? at the Cheesecake Factory; Trump Adds the Cherry on Top
    RedStateFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left6

    just happened to spotpounced onto shameAbsurdly Rich

  • Center1

    slams Obama

  • Right3

    clueless, elitist snobsnotty commentSlice of Humble Pie

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    clueless, elitist snobMore neutral: critic of the White House renovations

    The outlet states its insult of Obama as fact in its own voice.

    Barack Obama is a clueless, elitist snob.

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    snotty commentMore neutral: comment

    Calls the remark rude as the outlet’s own judgment, not a reported fact.

    …candidates ahead… pic.twitter.com/7q5VZHqgdj As we reported, many saw that as a snotty comment, disconnected from the American…

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    Slice of Humble PieMore neutral: Bessent responds to Obama’s comparison of White House renovations

    Presents Obama as humbled by a rival, which is the outlet’s own judgment rather than a reported event.

    Bessent Serves Obama a Slice of Humble Pie at the Cheesecake Factory; Trump Adds the Cherry on Top

    Used byRedState (Far Right)

  • Loaded verb

    slams ObamaMore neutral: criticizes Obama

    Slamming is a harsher verb than the reported remarks, adding the outlet’s judgment of tone.

    Bessent dines at Cheesecake Factory, slams Obama over Trump joke

    Used byCNBC (Center)

Show 6 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    just happened to spotMore neutral: spotted

    Implies the sighting was staged, which the article does not establish.

    …on Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory comments after a Fox Business reporter just happened to spot him outside the chain restaurant on Monday.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    pounced onMore neutral: responded to

    Dramatizes the reaction as an attack rather than a response.

    …opened a Cheesecake Factory.” What was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek joke was pounced on by the MAGA world.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    to shameMore neutral: to criticize

    Attributes a motive of humiliation that the article does not document.

    Millionaire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried multiple times to shame the former president.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    Absurdly RichMore neutral: wealthy

    Adds a scornful adverb to a label for the official’s wealth, which is not needed to report the event.

    Absurdly Rich Trump Goon Cosplays as Cheesecake Factory Fan

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Dehumanizing label

    Trump GoonMore neutral: Trump administration official

    Labels the official with a contemptible category before any conduct is established.

    Absurdly Rich Trump Goon Cosplays as Cheesecake Factory Fan

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    CosplaysMore neutral: dines at

    Suggests the dinner was fake and mocks the official’s sincerity.

    Absurdly Rich Trump Goon Cosplays as Cheesecake Factory Fan

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Bessent’s wealth and loyalty to Trump
  • the dinner as a failed attempt at humor
  • a Fox Business reporter spotting him

Leaves out

  • Bessent’s Darth Vader remark about Obama’s museum

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    Loaded modifier“Absurdly Rich”Adds a scornful adverb to a label for the official’s wealth, which is not needed to report the event.More neutral: wealthyDisagree with this highlight? Dehumanizing label“Trump Goon”Labels the official with a contemptible category before any conduct is established.More neutral: Trump administration officialDisagree with this highlight? Loaded verb“Cosplays”Suggests the dinner was fake and mocks the official’s sincerity.More neutral: dines atDisagree with this highlight? as Cheesecake Factory Fan

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried and failed to riff on Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory comments after a Fox Business reporter Loaded verb“just happened to spot”Implies the sighting was staged, which the article does not establish.More neutral: spottedDisagree with this highlight? him outside the chain restaurant on Monday. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Bessent’s remarks about Obama
  • the restaurant setting
  • the campaign context

Leaves out

  • Obama’s comparison to Saddam Hussein

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • CNBCCenter

    Bessent dines at Cheesecake Factory, Loaded verb“slams Obama”Slamming is a harsher verb than the reported remarks, adding the outlet’s judgment of tone.More neutral: criticizes ObamaDisagree with this highlight? over Trump joke

    Cheesecake Factory has emerged as a campaign talking point before next week's election, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dining there Monday.

    Read at CNBC (opens in a new tab)
  • The HillCenter

    Bessent mocks Obama outside Cheesecake Factory in DC

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked former President Obama outside a Cheesecake Factory in Washington on Monday after the former president likened recent White House renovations to the famous restaurant chain. “Well, two things. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Obama being humbled
  • Trump’s role in the exchange
  • Obama as an elitist
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • RedStateFar RightOpinion

    Bessent Serves Obama a Sensational language“Slice of Humble Pie”Presents Obama as humbled by a rival, which is the outlet’s own judgment rather than a reported event.More neutral: Bessent responds to Obama’s comparison of White House renovationsDisagree with this highlight? at the Cheesecake Factory; Trump Adds the Cherry on Top

    Barack Obama is a Loaded modifier“clueless, elitist snob”The outlet states its insult of Obama as fact in its own voice.More neutral: critic of the White House renovationsDisagree with this highlight?.

    Read at RedState (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    56 min later

    Its first report, Oct 26, 6:19 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    The Hill, Oct 26, 5:23 PM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The HillCenterOct 26, 5:23 PM EDT
  2. CNBCCenterOct 26, 5:38 PM EDT
  3. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 26, 6:19 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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