by WorldTribune Staff, June 24, 2018
During a toy drive outside a federal building in Los Angeles on June 23, Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat, advocated for the Left’s latest Trump resistance strategy which had little to do with reasoned debate.
“Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up and if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” Waters said.
The strategy kicked into high gear this past week with several incidents, including:
- A group of socialists confronting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a Washington, D.C. Mexican restaurant.
- White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being told to leave a Virginia restaurant.
- Protesters gathering outside Nielsen’s Virginia townhouse shouting, “no justice, no sleep.”
- Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi being confronted at a showing of a documentary about children’s TV host Fred Rogers.
On June 19, a Democratic Socialists of America mob crashed Nielsen’s meal, shouting chants such as “Kirstjen Nielsen, you’re a villain, locking up immigrant children.”
Related: DOJ staffer harassed Nielsen at dinner, tweeted from work against ‘terrorizing immigrants’, June 21, 2018
NPR, which still currently receives government funding, published an opinion piece by writer Monique Truong that claims in the headline that it is “hypocrisy” for Trump administration members who support the president’s immigration policy to eat at Mexican restaurants.
Truong lectured that since Mexican restaurants have “back-of-the-house” staff that “came from Mexico or Central America, with or without documents,” people who oppose illegal immigration are experiencing a “disconnect” when dining at these establishments.
On June 22, Sanders was told to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia for what a co-owner of the restaurant said were “moral” reasons.
Sanders tweeted: “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.”
The Daily Mail reported that Red Hen accepts walk-ins but the fact that Sanders’ name had apparently already been written down by staff and assigned to a table suggests she had pre-booked.
Sanders’ father, Mike Huckabee tweeted: “Bigotry. On the menu at The Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the ‘Hate Plate’. And appetizers are ‘small plates for small minds’ ”.
Stephanie Wilkinson, a co-owner of the Red Hen, told The Washington Post: “This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals,” she continued. She also reportedly described the actions of Trump’s White House as “inhumane and unethical.”
Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who represents the district where the Red Hen is located, has invited Sanders back to Lexington, saying the reception she received at the Red Hen didn’t reflect the “kind and caring people” of his district.
“What @PressSec experienced in Lexington last night is very unfortunate and doesn’t reflect accurately upon the kind and caring people of Lexington that I know,” tweeted Goodlatte. “There are many great innovative businesses in #VA06 that I hope you’ll come to back to visit.”
Also on June 22, a group of protesters with the group CREDO Action gathered outside Nielsen’s Virginia townhouse, chanting “no justice, no sleep” and blaring audio of immigrant children crying, The Washington Times reported.
Nielsen had to walk by protesters shouting “Shame!” when she left her house, according to video posted on social media. One man shouted, “You’re a modern-day Nazi!”
Heidi Hess, the co-director of CREDO Action, said it’s important to hold members of the Trump administration accountable “everywhere.”
“There’s a child snatcher living in Alexandria, Virginia,” Hess said in a statement. “Rightfully so, there’s a huge amount of attention focused on the border and the detention centers but the people who are making the decisions are here in D.C., so it’s important to shine a spotlight on them as well.”
In another June 22 incident, protesters confronted Bondi at a showing of a documentary about children’s TV host Fred Rogers.
After watching “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” a documentary about the fabled Mr. Rogers, Bondi was shouted at by demonstrators and had to be escorted by police, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“What would Mr. Rogers think about you and your legacy in Florida? Taking away health insurance from people with pre-existing conditions, Pam Bondi,” one protester reportedly shouted.
“You’re a horrible person!” another is quoted as calling out.
Bondi told the Tampa Bay Times that she didn’t believe the protesters’ actions were in line with the teachings of Mr. Rogers, whose “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which ran on PBS and its forerunners from 1968 to 2001, emphasized inclusivity and acceptance of all people.
“We were in a movie about anti-bullying and practicing peace and love and tolerance and accepting of people for their differences,” she said. “We all believe in free speech, but there’s a big difference there.”
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