Shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech on Friday, some people noted that a portion of it bore an uncanny resemblance to a speech delivered by the Batman villain Bane in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.
But that wasn’t where the unsettling similarities of the day ended. By now, you may have heard that later that evening, a large, towering cake that Trump and Vice President Pence cut with a saber at the Our Armed Services Ball left no room for debate—it looked exactly like the cake made for Obama’s 2013 Commander in Chief’s Ball.
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Baltimore’s Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame made the original cake for Obama’s inauguration, and pointed out the copy on Twitter.
It’s not a great look to seemingly rip off one of America’s most famous bakers, and a social media cake controversy ensued.
Saturday morning, Tiffany MacIsaac, the owner of Buttercream Bakeshop, the Washington, DC bakery that made the cake, came forward to clear the air. MacIsaac said the person who ordered the cake came in with a photo of Goldman’s cake and asked Buttercream to replicate it, despite Buttercream’s suggestion that the photograph instead serve as inspiration for a new design.
“They said, ‘Nope, they want this exact cake. It’s perfect.’ And we said, ‘Great,’” MacIsaac told the Washington Post. Little did MacIsaac know that the cake would result in a near-audible gasp when internet denizens noticed the resemblance. It turns out the cake isn’t an exact replica—it’s actually Styrofoam, MacIsaac said, with just a little bit of real cake at the bottom, and not meant to be eaten.
Thankfully, this cake controversy has a happy ending. MacIsaac says that Buttercream Bakery will donate the proceeds from the cake to Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for LGBT rights, and Goldman has come around to Buttercream’s version of his 2013 cake. He even invited the Buttercream team to visit his Baltimore bakery.
“Remembering a fantastic cake I made is awesome and the chef that re-created it for @POTUS Trump did a fantastic job. Group hug, y’all,” Goldman tweeted, adding, “Cake decorators borrow and are inspired by each other all the time. It’s how we keep this industry fresh, relevant, and moving forward.”
This actually isn’t the first cake-related news (or plagiarism-related news) in Trump’s campaign and ensuing presidency. Back on Election Day, a notably ghoulish cake made in the image of Trump was seen being wheeled into Trump Tower. Behold.
No matter what your outlook is on the next four years, it’s safe to say that pretty much anyone would find that cake terrifying.
