Sarah Huckabee Sanders was kicked out of a restaurant because she works for President Trump, and Twitter has a lot to say
On Friday, June 22nd, The Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave. Why? Because she works for President Donald Trump. The next day, Sanders took to her official Twitter account to call them out.
“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,” Sanders tweeted. “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.”
The person Sanders referred to in her tweet is the restaurant’s co-owner, Stephanie Wilkinson. Since Sanders’ tweet, Wilkinson has explained her decision. She asked her employees — several of whom are gay — if they wanted her to ask Sanders to leave. They said yes.
“I’m not a huge fan of confrontation,” Wilkinson told The Washington Post. “I have a business, and I want the business to thrive. This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.”
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
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) June 23, 2018
Wilkinson emphasized that her conversation with Sanders was very civil.
"I was babbling a little, but I got my point across in a polite and direct fashion," Wilkinson continued. "I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation. I said, 'I'd like to ask you to leave.'"
.@PressSec got kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va tonight. Apparently the owner didn’t want to serve her and her party out of moral conviction. pic.twitter.com/jr3bfiY3XY
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) June 23, 2018
Of course, Twitter had a lot to say about Sanders’ tweet.
The Red Hen should have just taken Sarah Sanders' order, then spent an hour saying, "We'll get back to you on that."
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) June 23, 2018
Didn’t you morons get your panties in a wad defending the baker that didn’t want to make cakes for gay couples? https://t.co/1idczybcwA
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 23, 2018
Sarah Sanders chose to be the mouthpiece of a racist administration that rips children from their mothers. But our country’s LGBT, many of whom serve in our military, teach our children, or heal our patients, had no choice in their sexual orientation. Red Hen kicked out a bigot.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 23, 2018
No shirt, no morals, no service. 🐔 https://t.co/uFl9YCYUav
— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) June 23, 2018
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I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U? https://t.co/L2o6H2KXC2
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) June 23, 2018
And of course, this is important to remember:
There's a massive difference between not serving someone because of the way they were born (ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation), as Masterpiece Cakeshop did, and Red Hen not serving Sarah Sanders because she CHOOSES to be a terrible person.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 23, 2018
We’re just glad that Wilkinson supported her workers and made the decision to protect them.
