Kasich on Forkgate: ‘The pizza came scalding hot, OK?’

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. John Kasich is on the defensive after being caught eating New York pizza in a very un-New York fashion.

During a stop at Gino’s Pizzeria in Howard Beach, Queens, Kasich ate pizza with a fork, immediately drawing the faux disapproval of locals and reporters alike, according to Fox News.

“The pizza came scalding hot, and so I used a little fork, OK?” Kasich said on “Good Morning America,” according to Fox. “My wife, who is on spring break with my daughters, said, ‘I’m proud of you. You finally learned how to use a utensil properly.’”

Kasich isn’t alone when it comes to drawing New Yorkers’ attention for using cutlery to eat pizza, the New York Daily News stated. Donald Trump used a fork to eat a slice in 2011 at Famiglia Pizzeria in Times Square with Sarah Palin, and Mayor de Blasio followed suit at a Staten Island pizzeria last year.

Kasich, though, did not let the pizza-eating faux pas stop him from enjoying other items at the restaurant, according to Fox.

“Not only did I eat the pizza, I had the hot sausage. It was fantastic,” Fox quoted the governor.