Nancy Pelosi found herself in a mini-political drama this week after visiting a salon in San Francisco on Monday, without a mask and against the guidelines laid out in California. The easily avoidable "scandal" has placed a target on Pelosi this week, taking some heat away from the Trump administration and lawmakers who have yet to pass a stimulus package through Congress.
Pelosi blamed the salon owner for turning the hair appointment into a "set up," something the House's Speaker has received flack for from critics and others online. Pelosi feels she is owed an apology for the incident while Trump supporters and critics are slamming her for hypocrisy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Pelosi has a supporter in the form of eSalon hairstylist Jonathan DeNardo. The employee claims his boss, owner Erica Kious, set up Pelosi and agreed the hairdresser could work with the lawmaker Monday. According to DeNardo, the incident stems from an angry business owner who was unhappy their business was closed due to the pandemic.
"The fact that Ms. Kious is now objecting to Speaker Pelosi's presence at eSalon, and from a simple surface-level review of Ms. Kious' political leanings, it appears Ms. Kious is furthering a setup of Speaker Pelosi for her own vain aspirations," a statement from DeNardo's attorney, Matthew Soleimanpour, read. "Ms. Kious took special interest in the appointment during this telephone call, wherein she made several vitriolic and incendiary comments about Speaker Pelosi and her purported responsibility for temporarily suspending operations of Ms. Kious' business."
Kious spoke with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night, denying the idea of a set up and explaining why she had a video to share with the Fox News host. "I've had a camera system in there for five years," Kious told Carlson. "I mean, I didn't go in there and turn cameras on as soon as she walked in and set her up. So that is absolutely false."
As with most political stories, people took sides and have either shown generous support to Kious and Pelosi or demonized both women. Kious claims she's received death threats after her TV appearance and Pelosi's allegations about the set up. There were also protesters outside of Pelosi's home after the news spread. Scroll down to see some of the responses.