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| Waitress Spit on Eric Trump at Chicago Bar, Trump Organization Says | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| CHICAGO — A Chicago waitress was placed on leave after Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, accused her of spitting on him while he was having dinner on Tuesday night. | CHICAGO — A Chicago waitress was placed on leave after Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, accused her of spitting on him while he was having dinner on Tuesday night. |
| An official with the Trump Organization, where Mr. Trump is an executive vice president, said the woman who spit on him was immediately handcuffed and detained by the Secret Service and the Chicago police. She was released after about two hours when Mr. Trump decided not to press charges. | An official with the Trump Organization, where Mr. Trump is an executive vice president, said the woman who spit on him was immediately handcuffed and detained by the Secret Service and the Chicago police. She was released after about two hours when Mr. Trump decided not to press charges. |
| The episode on Tuesday at The Aviary, an upscale cocktail bar just west of downtown Chicago, was not the first time someone close to President Trump has reported harassment while out in public. Last year, protesters shouted “Shame!” while Kirstjen Nielsen, then the secretary of homeland security, ate at a Mexican restaurant in Washington. Also last year, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was then the White House press secretary, was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant because of her political work. | The episode on Tuesday at The Aviary, an upscale cocktail bar just west of downtown Chicago, was not the first time someone close to President Trump has reported harassment while out in public. Last year, protesters shouted “Shame!” while Kirstjen Nielsen, then the secretary of homeland security, ate at a Mexican restaurant in Washington. Also last year, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was then the White House press secretary, was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant because of her political work. |
| Eric Trump, in an interview with the right-wing website Breitbart News, described being spit on as “purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems” and appeared to tie it to Democratic opposition to his father’s presidency. “For a party that preaches tolerance, this once again demonstrates they have very little civility,” he said. “When somebody is sick enough to resort to spitting on someone, it just emphasizes a sickness and desperation and the fact that we’re winning.” | Eric Trump, in an interview with the right-wing website Breitbart News, described being spit on as “purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems” and appeared to tie it to Democratic opposition to his father’s presidency. “For a party that preaches tolerance, this once again demonstrates they have very little civility,” he said. “When somebody is sick enough to resort to spitting on someone, it just emphasizes a sickness and desperation and the fact that we’re winning.” |
| Officials with The Aviary released an unsigned statement Wednesday describing “an unfortunate incident” that “occurred between an employee at The Aviary and Eric Trump.” That employee has been placed on leave, the statement said, adding that restaurant officials did not witness the reported spitting. | Officials with The Aviary released an unsigned statement Wednesday describing “an unfortunate incident” that “occurred between an employee at The Aviary and Eric Trump.” That employee has been placed on leave, the statement said, adding that restaurant officials did not witness the reported spitting. |
| “What is certain is this: no customer should ever be spit upon,” the bar’s statement said. | “What is certain is this: no customer should ever be spit upon,” the bar’s statement said. |
| It went on to criticize people who had made comments online “calling for the demise of our business,” as well as those “who are praising this as an act of civil disobedience.” | It went on to criticize people who had made comments online “calling for the demise of our business,” as well as those “who are praising this as an act of civil disobedience.” |
| “We hope this incident can, at least, serve to illuminate the current absurdity of the discourse in our politics,” The Aviary’s statement said. | “We hope this incident can, at least, serve to illuminate the current absurdity of the discourse in our politics,” The Aviary’s statement said. |
| Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Chicago police, said city officers had been “on scene and assisting the United States Secret Service with a law enforcement matter” Tuesday night. He declined to comment further, and the Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for more information. | Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Chicago police, said city officers had been “on scene and assisting the United States Secret Service with a law enforcement matter” Tuesday night. He declined to comment further, and the Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for more information. |
| Mr. Trump, who did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, posted photos Tuesday night on Twitter of the Trump International Hotel and Tower along the Chicago River. Mr. Trump described the skyscraper on Twitter as “one of the most beautiful buildings in the world!” | Mr. Trump, who did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, posted photos Tuesday night on Twitter of the Trump International Hotel and Tower along the Chicago River. Mr. Trump described the skyscraper on Twitter as “one of the most beautiful buildings in the world!” |
| A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Chicago said federal charges were not expected in the case. An official with the county prosecutor’s office said the incident was “an ongoing police investigation” and declined to comment. | A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office in Chicago said federal charges were not expected in the case. An official with the county prosecutor’s office said the incident was “an ongoing police investigation” and declined to comment. |
| The Trump family has long had a strained relationship with Chicago, a heavily Democratic city that the president has repeatedly singled out for its high rate of gun violence and sanctuary policy toward undocumented immigrants. | The Trump family has long had a strained relationship with Chicago, a heavily Democratic city that the president has repeatedly singled out for its high rate of gun violence and sanctuary policy toward undocumented immigrants. |
| During the 2016 campaign, the future president canceled a rally in Chicago after violent scuffles broke out in the arena where it was to be held. The city’s former mayor, Rahm Emanuel, often referred to Chicago as a “Trump-free zone.” And when word spread of an immigration sweep last weekend that would have targeted Chicago and other cities, the new mayor, Lori Lightfoot, told the president to “back off.” | During the 2016 campaign, the future president canceled a rally in Chicago after violent scuffles broke out in the arena where it was to be held. The city’s former mayor, Rahm Emanuel, often referred to Chicago as a “Trump-free zone.” And when word spread of an immigration sweep last weekend that would have targeted Chicago and other cities, the new mayor, Lori Lightfoot, told the president to “back off.” |