Conservative influencer and MAGA supporter Chris Sims recently appeared on podcast host Angela Rose’s program where he recounted his recent experience at a Panda Express restaurant where he was kicked out for wearing a red MAGA hat, followed outside, and harassed by staff members. Sims was livestreaming at the time of the incident and recorded the situation as it unfolded, including an encounter with local police.
Rose opened up the interview by asking Sims if he wore his MAGA gear on a daily basis. “Yeah, yeah, it’s my everyday hat. Like, I feel like, you know, anybody should.. I’m friends with a couple people, you know, that have kids, and their kids are like 12-13, and they say they wear them out and they get hassled, and I’m like, you know, that shouldn’t happen,” Sims replied.
“So, I just wear it just to show that you should be able to wear something political and not be hassled anywhere, you know. You didn’t see that when Obama was in office, when you know anybody else was running, you didn’t see him getting hassled for wearing Paris gear or Obama gear. So I feel like with wearing a Trump hat that you’re just supporting America,” he continued.
Sims noted that the hat simply says, “Make America Great Again,” which isn’t an offensive message. Rose responded by saying, “It’s a good quote, right?” She added, “So it’d be kind of strange for people to be like, oh, making America great. Oh boy, that’s horrible. Okay, so we have to point out that you are in Portland. I think that adds a tremendous amount of context to the story.”
Rose asked Sims how many times he had been to that particular Panda Express before the incident occurred and if he was recognized when he entered the establishment. “Actually, I’ve never been to that Panda Express before. I was actually eating local, I was just eating sushi locally, and we ate like a few rolls. I got like three or four rolls, they actually had a Trump roll at the sushi, and I was recording just like I was there, so I was screaming, and you know, we just ate some rolls,” he responded.
“I was still a little hungry, so like, oh, let’s get some food and go somewhere, and Panda Express is right down the way. So we stopped there, thinking, oh, it’ll be fine going there,” he added. Rose picked up the conversation, saying, “I’m wondering about what the reception of people that have watched this video has been, and if you believe that it was the workers that kicked you out, or was it the Panda Express establishment?”
“Because I saw at the end of the video, the cop says, well, private businesses have the right to deny customer service, but it’s like businesses have the right to refuse, so yeah, oh yeah, completely understand, yeah, a little bit strange, because it’s such a massive food chain, but I believe some Panda Express are locally owned, kind of like, what’s the setup, are the workers still working there?” Rose asked the conservative influencer.
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Sims then revealed that he’s not heard anything back from police or Panda Express, noting that when local law enforcement authorities arrived at the scene and spoke with employees, they told him he didn’t do anything wrong. Rose then inserted a clip from the recording Sims captured of his conversation with the cops.
In the clip, Sims can be heard saying, “Yeah, no, I was in there, and they were like staring at me, and he wouldn’t say anything. I just gave him a thumbs up, and then they said you guys need to leave. I was like, all right, I’ll leave. So I walk outside, I’m still recording, and then she starts calling the police on me. So, like, what do you want? I’m like, I’m on YouTube, like, show me, show me your YouTube. So I showed him my YouTube.”
Sims then told Rose, “They kind of laughed off the situation, like you can do what everyone can record, you know. That wasn’t a big deal, but I think, I mean, I think it was the workers, the workers didn’t seem right. Right when I walked in, they seemed the two guys in the back, like, looked at me. They kind of gave me dirty looks. They looked at each other, started laughing, and I was like, ‘Oh, whatever. You know, I was talking to my chat.”
The MAGA supporter and up and coming livestreamer wrapped up the interview by telling Rose, “I didn’t care. So, you need to leave. You can’t stand here. You can.. I was like, ‘I’m on public property. I’m just walking out. You guys are telling me I can’t stand on.. you know, I’m not even a First Amendment auditor. I’m just somebody who’s talking to my chat.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video