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Dining across the divide: ‘There wasn’t much substance to her argument for why she disliked Trump’

They disagree on the climate crisis, Farage and the president-elect – so how did they have such a nice time?

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Wendy, 55, Bristol

Wendy, with long red wavy hair, glasses and red lipstick, wearing a brown and black patterned dress

Occupation Works in IT

Voting record Mostly Labour, depending on their policies. Would never vote Conservative

Amuse bouche Has been playing online games since the early 2000s, with strangers from all over the world, some of whom have become friends in real life. Currently plays Kings of Avalon

Rob, 58, Bristol

A portrait of Rob, with short grey hair, wearing a lilac shirt and a grey herringbone waistcoat View image in fullscreen

Occupation Self-employed fitness coach and a trainer in conflict management and physical interventions. Also does property maintenance

Voting record Used to vote Conservative because he thought the local MP was good; when he stood down, voted Reform, mainly in protest

Amuse bouche A few years ago he cycled across the US, from St Augustine, Florida, to Santa Monica pier in California

For starters

Rob She’s very friendly. I asked her: “Have you been nervous all day?” She said: “Absolutely. I’ve been reading up on things and rehearsing what to say.” The conversation just flowed.

Wendy He was superb. I don’t like his politics, but that’s to be expected.

Rob We had some sourdough and balsamic vinegar. Wendy had the something parfait …

Wendy … chicken liver parfait. Breast of duck. Cannelloni with raspberries and seafood. It was really unusual, though in the Elizabethan era they often put fruit in their savoury food.

A woman with long red wavy hair, glasses and red lipstick, wearing a brown and black patterned dress, and a man with short grey hair, wearing a lilac shirt, a grey herringbone waistcoat and beige chinos, sitting at a restaurant table talking View image in fullscreen

The big beef

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Dining across the divide: ‘The only thing we agreed on was our mutual dislike of Boris Johnson’
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Rob There wasn’t much substance to Wendy’s argument for why she disliked Trump. I think he’s a very Marmite character, but unless you live in the US, it’s very difficult to gauge what Trump is about. If you watch the BBC, they’re going to portray him in a certain light; if you go on Twitter and find an independent journalist, they’re going to portray him in a completely different light. It’s difficult, too, because he’s only got 20 words in his vocabulary. But I think he has the US’s interests at heart. I don’t think he has an ulterior motive.

Wendy I think Trump’s misogynistic. “Grab them by the pussy” is an awful thing to say about women. What he’s physically done in real life is even worse. I think Rob was in favour of his policies, but they are so vague and so opportunistic I feel they’re all a bit pants, really. I didn’t buy Rob’s line on the media – I think newspapers just report what they see. And if anything, the bias would be the other way round, because his supporters own the media.

Rob We agreed that the government shouldn’t be telling women they don’t have a right to an abortion. But she said Trump was the antichrist because of that, and I said: “Maybe it’s because the church is so ingrained in US politics. When you get to the Bible belt, that vote carries a lot of weight. Trump has an obligation to carry their principles and take abortion off the table.”

Wendy Trump’s strengths are that he gets on well with the enemy, like Russia and North Korea. I think it’s bordering on treason to fraternise with the enemy.

A woman with long red wavy hair, glasses and red lipstick, wearing a brown and black patterned dress, and a man with short grey hair, wearing a lilac shirt, a grey herringbone waistcoat and beige chinos, sitting at a restaurant table talking View image in fullscreen

Sharing plate

Rob Neither of us like Tommy Robinson, but I defended his right to free speech, just like I would defend Jeremy Corbyn’s right to free speech. We live in a democracy – unless he’s being really derogatory to a certain race, he shouldn’t be shut down.

Wendy I could do without people like Tommy Robinson – or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – and I don’t think Rob likes him much either. But he thinks Nigel Farage has some good points, and he voted Reform, which surprised me, because he’s such a nice chap.

A woman with long red wavy hair, glasses and red lipstick, wearing a brown and black patterned dress, and a man with short grey hair, wearing a lilac shirt, a grey herringbone waistcoat and beige chinos, sitting at a restaurant table talking View image in fullscreen

For afters

Rob We agreed that there wasn’t a climate crisis. I said: “None of us are going to die, the world’s not going to end in 20 years’ time.” She said she thinks there will be big catastrophic events further down the line.

Wendy My first degree was in environmental science and environmental biology, so I did not agree there was no crisis. I think we’ll experience a series of catastrophic incidents, getting closer together, with a potential final extinction event.

A woman with long red wavy hair, glasses and red lipstick, wearing a brown and black patterned dress, and a man with short grey hair, wearing a lilac shirt, a grey herringbone waistcoat and beige chinos, sitting at a restaurant table talking View image in fullscreen

Takeaways

Rob We hugged each other at the end, and said that we’d be kind about each other. She said she had a nice time, and I did too.

Wendy We parted on very good terms. I like people with different views, it makes me think. If everyone thought the same way, life would be boring.
Additional reporting: Kitty Drake

Rob and Wendy ate at Tare Bistro in Bristol. Want to meet someone from across the divide? Find out how to take part

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