Restaurant owner: I threw out Sarah Sanders over her defense of Trump transgender military ban – By John Bowden (thehill.com) / June 23 2018
The owner of a Virginia restaurant who asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family to leave Friday night said Saturday that Sanders’ defense of President Trump’s transgender troop ban was at the heart of her decision.
Stephanie Wilkinson, co-owner of The Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, told The Washington Post in an interview that the restaurant employs several LGBT employees, some of whom voiced their concern over serving Sanders due to her comments at the podium in defense of Trump’s ban.
“[The chef] said the staff is a little concerned. What should we do?” Wilkinson told The Post. “I said I’d be down to see if it’s true.”
“I’m not a huge fan of confrontation,” Wilkinson added. “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.”
She added that the White House’s defense of the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant families for prosecution over illegal entry, which President Trump ended via executive order this week, also contributed to her staff’s concerns.
“Tell me what you want me to do. I can ask her to leave,” Wilkinson told the Post she said to her staff. “They said yes.”
Wilkinson also called the administration “inhumane and unethical” to the Post.
Sanders responded on Twitter Saturday morning, writing that she would continue to treat people she disagreed with on politics “respectfully.”
“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for [President Trump] 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.”
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
Jaike Foley-Schultz, who said he is a waiter at the restaurant, posted on Facebook that he waited on Sanders and her family “for a total of 2 minutes” before Wilkinson asked the party to leave.
