The Herald (South Africa)

Culinary quip goes down well

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IT could have caused a diplomatic incident but a culinary quip from Pope Francis seemed to have gone down well with Donald Trump and his wife, Melania.

In one of the lighter moments of his meeting with the US president, Francis made an apparent allusion to Trump’s imposing physical size.

“What do you feed him on, Potica?” the pope asked, in reference to a calorie-laden cake that comes from her native Slovenia.

Reporters thought initially that the first lady had replied “pizza!” but her staff said later she had appreciate­d that Francis had produced a custom-made joke for her benefit.

Trump, famed for his love of fast food and his use of fat as an insult for his enemies, took the quip in good spirit, beaming broadly, as he did throughout the public parts of an encounter. Both sides had been determined that the meeting would emphasise areas of agreement between the new administra­tion and the Vatican, after some pointed exchanges between the two leaders over the last year.

These have included Francis calling Trump’s border wall plans “not Christian” and the billionair­e suggesting the pope might be glad to have him in charge if the Islamic State attacked the Vatican.

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