Donald Trump supporters have joined a “protest” against Starbucks by announcing the name of the president-elect when ordering a cup of coffee. Likely because the chain’s CEO Howard Schultz has openly expressed his support for Hillary Clinton, they have taken advantage of the company’s tradition of shouting out their customers’ names when their coffees are ready.
The campaign started after a video showing a white male Trump supporter accusing a barista for anti-white discrimination went viral. Identified as David Sanguesa, the man told ABC affiliate WPLG that he paid Wednesday for a coffee at a Starbucks in Coral Gables, near Miami, and claimed the barista refused to serve his order because he was a Trump supporter. Sanguesa was with a colleague, who suggested the barista acted that way because the man had a Trump sign on his car.
Sanguesa considered the barista committed “anti-white discrimination” and began screaming at her, demanding a refund. However, a witness said the man simply got upset because the barista took too long to serve him his coffee, as reported by The Washington Post.
Jorge de Cárdenas, the customer who recorded the scene on his smartphone, told the Miami New Times the man had become impatient while waiting for his drink and started screaming at the male barista, who apparently is a person of color. Cárdenas added Sanguesa said ““F— you, b—-.”
The Miami Herald later reported that the white male Trump supporter has a criminal history. He was charged twice in 2008 with DUIs and in 2014 with domestic violence. Additionally, the newspaper informed that Sanguesa has been sending it emails “with rants against Cubans, women, immigrants, gays and lesbians, President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.”
What #TrumpCup supporters didn’t know
A separate video gave Timothy Treadstone the idea of creating the #BoycottStarbucks. The 29-year-old political consultant and social media strategist from Los Angeles told USA Today that he started the campaign after seeing a video in which a different Trump supporter tried to order under Trump’s name at a Starbucks. The footage, shared on social media, suggests that the employee declined to respond to the customer’s request and then asked a coworker to call the police.
Treadtsone decided to conduct a social experiment in First Amendment rights.
“Operation #TrumpCup 1) Go to Starbucks & tell them your name is Trump 2) If they refuse take video Pls share & spread the word,” he tweeted Thursday night.
Of course, the idea couldn’t have come from the mere desire to boycott the company. It doesn’t seem to make sense to hold a protest against a company by giving them money. Still, several Trump supporters acted impulsively and joined a campaign that actually benefits the very business they wanted to boycott.
“Over the years, writing customer names on cups and calling out their names has been a fun ritual in our stores. Rarely has it been abused or taken advantage of. We hope and trust that our customers will continue to honor that tradition. We don’t require our partners to write or call out names”, Starbucks said in a statement, according to USA Today.
Source: USA Today