Panda Express just learned a hard lesson about picking fights with the wrong crowd.
Two customers wearing MAGA hats walked into a Panda Express in Lakewood, Washington (south of Tacoma), and were told to leave simply because of what was on their heads. When they refused to be kicked out for their political views, the staff called 911.
The responding officers showed up and delivered the perfect reality check: the customers had done nothing wrong. They were paying customers who hadn’t broken any laws, and the restaurant had no right to throw them out over a hat.
Video:
The whole thing was caught on video, and it’s blowing up for obvious reasons. You can hear the employees getting more and more upset while the customers calmly stand their ground. The cops basically told the staff this wasn’t a police matter — it was a “you’re discriminating against customers” matter.
This is the same nonsense we’ve seen at other businesses lately. Some companies still haven’t learned that millions of Americans who supported Trump aren’t going to hide it. They’re proud of it. And alienating your best customers in a competitive fast-casual market is just bad business.
Panda Express released a statement saying the matter is under investigation and that the company “doesn’t take political stands.” That’s fine, but the damage is already done. No names of the employees involved have been released yet, and there are no reports of any firings so far.
Here’s the simple truth: MAGA customers helped make America prosperous again. They spend money, they show up, and they expect basic respect when they walk into a store. Kicking them out because you don’t like their hat is not only un-American, it’s stupid for the bottom line.
The officers handled it exactly right — no overreach, no drama, just common sense. You can’t call the police because someone’s wearing the wrong hat. That’s not how this country works.
Businesses need to wake up. The country voted for Trump in a landslide because people are tired of being lectured and discriminated against for their beliefs. Panda Express and every other chain would be smart to remember who their customers actually are.
This incident happened yesterday, and the video is already making the rounds for a reason. Americans are fed up with this kind of selective enforcement. You either serve everyone, or you serve no one.
The cops did their job. Now it’s on Panda Express to do theirs.
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