With six days to go until Christmas, Rob Ford isn’t planning to brave crowded shopping malls or boutiques to find the perfect gift for his wife Renata.
In a move that probably won’t score him any points with romantics, Toronto’s embattled mayor says he is planning to cut his wife a cheque so she can spoil herself.
Ford discussed his not-so-secret gift, which apparently is a Christmas tradition in his household, Thursday morning during his weekly guest appearance on “The Sports Junkies,” a radio talk show in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
“Just money, women love money,” Ford said with a laugh as one of the hosts applauded. “And you get perfume and dresses, you know. You give them a couple thousand bucks and they’re happy … and get some treats on the side, obviously, but she says ‘I want cash, honey, I want cash.’”
Ford told the show’s hosts he presents the cheque with a basket, flowers “and a little bit of this and that.”
“At the end of the day, you know, she wants her cash so I give her a nice cheque and we’re all happy,” Ford said.
In return, Renata Ford surprises her husband with a gift that has something to do with sports or politics, the mayor said.
“I have a fantastic wife,” he said, adding the couple was preparing to go Christmas shopping for their eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son, who are “bouncing off the walls” as they wait for Santa Claus' annual visit.
Renata Ford made a rare public appearance alongside the mayor in November when he held a news conference at city hall to apologize for using vulgar language on live television while denying claims that he made crude remarks to former staffer Olivia Gondek.
After the news conference, Renata Ford broke her silence when she defended her husband and asked the media to give the family privacy.
Ford explains council dance party
Ford joins the radio show every week to make his NFL picks and, as usual, Thursday’s segment touched on politics and the media frenzy surrounding the mayor as he touted Toronto as a great city and invited the hosts to visit.
Ford gave late night chat show hosts more material earlier this week when he and fellow council members danced to a live band at their meeting Tuesday.
With a Bob Marley tune, the local jazz group offered a musical break and a rare chance to unwind.
Ford swung his arms and bobbed around to the music during a televised moment that was later repeated on news broadcasts around the world.
On Thursday’s radio show, the hosts of “The Sports Junkies” offered Ford a chance to explain the unusual scene.
“I like Bob Marley, I like dancing and I like having a good time. We’re going to do it at every council meeting now,” Ford said.
The mayor said he borrowed the idea from Austin, Texas’ city council after watching a band perform at a meeting there during his music business mission last October.
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