Caroline Heldman
Role at the time: Democratic strategist and Occidental College professor, appearing on CNN
Challenged the characterization
Statement summary
Heldman says a billionaire is using the "Martha's Vineyard set" line to attack Obama and that the joke's purpose was to poke Trump.
“A billionaire talking about ... to attack Barack Obama. ... it's obviously getting under Trump's skin. That is the whole point; that Barack Obama wanted to poke him.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)CNN panel discusses Obama's Cheesecake Factory joke and responsesTranscript markers 00:35:37 to 00:40:02: Obama, Trump and Bessent clips and panel discussion
Why we used this label
Relative to Obama's comparison, Heldman answers its critics: she points out that a billionaire is using the "Martha's Vineyard set" line to attack Obama and says the joke was meant to poke Trump. She praises Obama's campaigning but does not argue that the comparison itself was justified, so this challenges how the joke's critics characterize it rather than defending it.