Sarah Huckabee Sanders was reportedly asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia, as the owner did not want to serve a member of the Trump administration.
Sanders was reportedly visiting a restaurant called the Red Hen, in Lexington, Virginia. Shortly after she was seated, the owner approached her table and asked her entire party to leave, according to a report by TMZ. Sources close to the owner said that she had decided not to serve Sanders based on a “moral conviction.”
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Sanders got out ahead of the story, explaining her side of it on Twitter on Saturday morning.
“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for [POTUS] and I politely left,” she wrote simply. “Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.”
Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 23, 2018
The waiter who was preparing to serve Sanders before her unceremonious exit also gave an account of the night in a post on Facebook.
“I just served Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a total of 2 minutes before my owner asked her to leave and she complied,” he wrote. “Her family left on their own accord, we didn’t actually refuse service or ‘kick her out.’”
Of course, the story has been met with polarizing reactions across social media and other platforms. A number of moves to boycott the Red Hen have cropped up, while the restaurant has received an avalanche of positive Yelp reviews from those who oppose the Trump administration.
“A small business owner makes a decision that she doesn’t want a liar who contributes to the hate in this country to dine at her establishment and Sarah from her official White House account attacks her,” wrote Kathy Griffin. “Punching down is what the White House does. Please support the Red Hen.”
A small business owner makes a decision that she doesn’t want a liar who contributes to the hate in this country to dine at her establishment and Sarah from her official White House account attacks her. Punching down is what the White House does.
Please support the Red Hen. https://t.co/TflhgHJhWk
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) June 23, 2018
The move was presumed to be a reaction to the Trump Administration’s recent immigration policy shifts. The Justice Department instituted a “zero tolerance” policy which resulted in the separation of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Unlike previous administrations, both parents and children were detained, with no protocol in place to reunite them.
Earlier this week, a similar protest took place when the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was spotted dining at a Mexican restaurant not far from the White House. Patrons were incensed to see her there, and viral videos showed them gathered around her table chanting “shame” and “end family separation.”
President Trump signed an executive order to end the family separation policy on Wednesday, though this did little to repair his standing with the American people. The policy was not based on a law, and therefore did not require an executive order to be undone.
The president also claimed repeatedly that the practice was based on a democratic law that he and the Republican Congress were powerless to stop, despite holding the majority in both houses of the legislative branch.
Photo Credit: NBC / Graeme Jennings
