Small Business

Did Pizza Shop Owner Tip Off His Obama Hug?

The Huffington Post Staff
WATCH LIVE
U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Scott Van Duzer, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant during a visit to the restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida.
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It's one thing being a power lifter, it's quite another lifting the most powerful man on the planet into the air without warning him.

On a visit to the Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant in Florida, the president was gripped in a bear hug and lifted off the ground by the giant Scott Van Duzer.

"You're the biggest pizza parlor owner I've ever seen," Obama said. "Look at these guns."

After being hoisted into the air the president added: "Man are you a power lifter or what?"

Van Duzer later told BBC News that the president had ordered 20 pizzas for his travelling campaign staff — and paid with cash.

(Read more: Obama's Hug, Joe Biden's Biker Gang)

"I am a Republican. And I voted for him four years ago and I liked what he stood for. I'm not a big politician but, you know, I think he has some more work to do. And I will vote for him again," Van Duzer said.

(Read more: How Candidates Boosted Their Main Street Appeal)

According to the New York Times Van Duzer tipped off the secret service of his plan beforehand, who told him it was "alright as long as I didn’t take him away". They don't like it when people steal the president.