--- title: Donald Trump Chocolate Cake: Internet Reactions description: The internet mocked President Donald Trump for discussing Syria with the Chinese president over chocolate cake. canonical: https://time.com/4736600/trump-cake-syria-reactions/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-12T17:35:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:45:27.847Z og:title: The Internet Had Some Thoughts on President Trump's Chocolate Cake Conversation og:description: "Say what you will, but my president has got style." og:url: https://time.com/4736600/trump-cake-syria-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1fbf15b66ced8fe/6988c2658e06010443469e69/gettyimages-665457970.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5568 og:image:height: 3132 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-XI og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Had Some Thoughts on President Trump's Chocolate Cake Conversation twitter:description: "Say what you will, but my president has got style." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1fbf15b66ced8fe/6988c2658e06010443469e69/gettyimages-665457970.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Had Some Thoughts on President Trump's Chocolate Cake Conversation > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=353dd597-55b5-4ac9-810d-a784df5b6561&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Says Putin Is Backing "An Evil Person" [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Says Putin Is Backing "An Evil Person"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fu2P89FD.m3u8) (0:30)  _Published 2017-04-12. President Donald Trump said the United States will not go "into Syria," implying he has no intention of declaring a full-scale war against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad after attacking a Syrian base on Thursday._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Apr 12, 2017 5:35 PM UTC President Donald Trump said the United States will not go "into Syria," implying he has no intention of declaring a full-scale war against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad after attacking a Syrian base on Thursday. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Apr 12, 2017 5:35 PM UTC President Trump told China’s President about the [Syrian aistrike decision](http://time.com/4735470/donald-trump-syria-war-bashar-al-assad/) over [chocolate cake](http://time.com/4736610/trump-chocolate-cake-jinping-syria/), and it’s lighting up the internet. In an [interview on Fox Business Network](http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/04/11/president-trump-interview-mornings-maria-bartiromo-fox-business-network) on Wednesday, Trump told Maria Bartiromo that the world leaders were eating the “most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen” when he notified President Xi Jinping that the [airstrikes in Syria](http://time.com/4734265/what-will-president-trump-do-about-syria/) would start. Trump added that President Xi was “enjoying it,” when Trump received the message from generals at this formal dinner he hosted at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Trump told Xi he approved of the airstrikes because Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against his own people. The intersection of politics and food — two online obsessions — led to a predictable swarm of reactions. See some of the reactions below. > [](https://twitter.com/jonathanchait/status/852191149095878656) > [](https://twitter.com/slimthig69/status/852017792631033856) > [](https://twitter.com/oureric/status/852185999564304385) > [](https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/852196706913529856) > [](https://twitter.com/johniadarola/status/852195772598824960) > [](https://twitter.com/igorbobic/status/852192765052157959) > [](https://twitter.com/robdelaney/status/852174164416921600) > [](https://twitter.com/usapolitic2/status/852201787884838914) > [](https://twitter.com/drewharwell/status/852149997105709056) ## Transcript [00:00] Frankly Putin is backing a person [00:05] that's truly an evil person and I think it's very bad for [00:09] Russia I think it's very bad for mankind, it's very bad [00:12] for this world, but when you drop gas or bombs [00:17] of barrel bombs they have these massive barrels with [00:20] dynamite and they drop them right in the middle of a [00:22] group of people And in all fairness you see the same [00:25] kids, no arms, no legs, no face. 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