No ‘calamari comeback’? The squid chef from Democrats’ 2020 convention says he’s a Trump backer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The “calamari comeback” chef who delighted viewers of the last Democratic National Convention might not be coming back.

John Bordieri was dubbed by some as the “calamari ninja” for standing wordlessly, clad head-to-toe in black, and holding a platter of lightly buttered, sautéed squid on a Rhode Island beach during a video roll call of states that formally made Joe Biden the party’s presidential nominee in 2020.

Bordieri said he’s not heard from state or national leaders about a repeat performance when Democrats gather again this summer in Chicago.

He is planning to start a vacation when their convention opens on Aug. 19. And more importantly, he prefers former President Donald Trump to Biden — so organizers likely won’t want him back, anyway.

“I’m a Trump supporter, to be honest with you,” Bordieri, 57, said in an interview during which he divulged for the first time publicly his true political sympathies and his plans to vote for the Republican in November. “But I was told to tell everybody that I’m independent.”

The Democratic National Convention has announced plans to again nominate Biden via a virtual roll call before the in-person event formally begins. That’s so it can satisfy an early ballot deadline set by Republican-controlled Ohio, even though state lawmakers there have since eased their rules.

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