‘MAGA’ hat kerfuffle stirs up trouble for Cheesecake Factory
Wait staff accosted an ardent Trump supporter during a Mother’s Day meal. The store manager and chain have apologized, and two people lost their jobs. Not enough, some conservatives say.
Staying out of trouble is difficult in today’s polarized climate.
Your organization might say all the right things and stay out of politics, but political discord increasingly is encroaching on public spaces—and the exchange is not always civil.
A Florida man who is a big Trump supporter wore his red “Make America Great Again” hat to dinner with his girlfriend’s family at The Cheesecake Factory at Dadeland Mall for Mother’s Day. According to reports, some restaurant employees did not appreciate his presence.
Joseph said it was mid-afternoon Sunday when a large group including his girlfriend and her mother headed over to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Mother’s Day. They weren’t seated long, he said, when someone in the group pointed out a waitress who was standing behind him pointing at his hat.
Then, Joseph and others in the group said, other employees joined in. Soon, it felt as if the entire staff of the Cheesecake Factory was closing in on him and his favorite red ball cap.
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