U.S. President Donald Trump is diving into a spat involving a Virginia restaurant and one of his top staffers.
On Friday night, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted about being asked to leave the Red Hen Restaurant because she worked for President Trump.
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
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 23, 2018
Following that tweet, the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics sent out his own social media message, suggesting Sanders violated ethics by using an official government account to condemn a private business.
On Monday, the president stepped in, trash-talking the 26-seat restaurant.
The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018
The restaurant’s co-owner said in an interview that her reasons included the concerns of employees who were gay and knew Sanders had defended Trump’s desire to bar transgender people from the military.
