HALIFAX — U.S. President Donald Trump — or at least a culinary version of him — may be rendered speechless after a Halifax-based doughnut shop released a new creation to celebrate Pride Week.
Vandal Doughnuts recently came out with a sticky-sweet treat depicting the controversial politician donning a bright pink ball gag — a bondage tool used in sadomasochism and BDSM.
A photo of the kinky confection posted on the business's social media bears a bold caption: "Tariff me baby."
Vandal Doughnuts' sales and catering manager Matthew Evans said the idea was borne out of a desire to poke fun at Trump, who has recently come under fire for steep tariffs placed on Canadian steel and aluminum, along with his immigration policies.
"Since it's Pride Week in Halifax, we decided to change it up a bit," Evans said in an interview Sunday.
"We wanted to stick a ball gag in his mouth, because that's where it should belong so he doesn't talk anymore."
Dubbed the "Dumbnut," Evans said the daring dessert uses banana-flavoured cotton candy to achieve the president's signature hairstyle, peach fondant to fill in his face, and a gumball in his mouth with straps for a gag drawn on the sides.
He said the concoction seems to be a hit among local doughnut fans. On days they serve the Trump doughnuts, the shop makes dozens of them in the mornings and usually sell out by the end of the day.
But not everyone seems to be eating the joke up, with some internet commenters saying the business is giving the president what he wants: attention.
Others brought up the notion of "kink-shaming" — disrespecting or mocking someone's sexual predilections.
Evans said he doesn't see it that way.
"We just wanted to have a little fun and play around with doughnut ideas," he said.
"I'm just seeing a couple people in the back decorating doughnuts, wanting to have a laugh and give back to the community by putting a little smile on their face."
He added that the shop has other doughnuts for Pride Week in Halifax, including some that pay homage to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Others bear rainbow stripes — a more traditional symbol for LGBTQ pride.
The Trump doughnut isn't the first time an American president has been used to sell Canadian goodies.
In 2009, an Ottawa business owner sold then-president Barack Obama three maple leaf-shaped cookies for his family during his first visit to the nation's capital.
Now known as the "Obama cookie," the baked good — with "Canada" written in white block letters atop red icing — has since become a big seller for Claude Bonnet, owner of Moulin de Provence bakery in Ottawa's ByWard Market.
