In late September 2024, Senator and 2024 Trump running mate JD Vance was driving through North Versailles, Pennsylvania, and decided to stop at a local restaurant to interact with supporters and staff. Rather than welcome the attention and business, the restaurant manager temporarily kept Sen. Vance from entering the building and reportedly threatened to call the police if Sen. Vance did enter it. The result has been a growing call for a boycott campaign.
Describing the incident, a local attorney, Sean Logue, witnessed the incident and described what happened, saying, “J.D. Vance’s SUV pulls up, Secret Service comes into the restaurant, Secret Service guards the area between the SUV and the entrance to the restaurant. J.D. Vance, he gets out, and then the manager runs out and yells at him and says, you can’t come in here.”
As could be expected, the incident led to an online outcry and a great deal of anger directed at the restaurant chain. The chain, in turn, soon took to social media to try to apologize and get the anger to at least somewhat abate, a tactic that largely failed to do as the chain obviously hoped would happen.
Beginning its semi-apology and explanation, the chain said, “PRIMANTI’S PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING A STAPLE OF THE PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY AND A PROUD AMERICAN BUSINESS THAT HAS HOSTED SITTING PRESIDENTS, POLITICIANS, AND POLITICAL CANDIDATES FROM ACROSS THE SPECTRUM FOR OVER 90 YEARS. OUR DOORS ARE OPEN TO ALL PATRONS WHO WISH TO DINE WITH US.”
Continuing, it tried to explain away the incident, saying, “WITHOUT ANY ADVANCE NOTICE, TODAY’S CAMPAIGN STOP CAUSED SOME MOMENTARY CONFUSION FOR OUR STAFF. HOWEVER, SENATOR VANCE AND HIS TEAM WERE WELCOMED INTO OUR RESTAURANT SHORTLY AFTER AND ENGAGED WITH OUR GUESTS INSIDE AND ON THE PROPERTY. SENATOR VANCE’S SUPPORTIVE COMMENTS THAT OUR MANAGER GOT A LITTLE NERVOUS GIVEN THE SECRET SERVICE, POLICE AND CROWD ACCURATELY REFLECT THE NATURE OF WHAT OCCURRED, AND WE ARE GLAD THAT IT WAS RESOLVED QUICKLY.”
If anything, that statement largely fired up those it appeared meant to appease. One poster on X (formerly Twitter), for example, posted a picture of the statement and responded by calling for a boycott, saying, “🚨 Now Primanti Bros. puts this so called apology out. This is not an apology…it’s because they got backlash on the event that took place. Now, you can’t respond to this on their X account because they won’t take any. More HYPOCRITES among us! #BoycottPrimantiBros”
Replying, commenters largely echoed that sentiment, saying things like, “I don’t eat there anyway,” “But they were okay with Harris/Waltz bussing in support for an obvious photo op? Too little, too late!,” “Too late… we will never go back… let the liberals go,” and “JUST WONDERING IF THEY WILL LET ME IN THE DOOR AT PRIMANTI BROS, because I’m voting for TRUMP VANCE.”
Commenters on the Pimanti Bros post were largely negative as well, and the company shut off comments on the post. Some of the comments that were included before comments on the post were turned off included “I fail to see any apology here. #BoycottPrimantiBros” and “Primanti Hoes.”
Quote tweeters sounded off on Pimanti Bros as well. One, for example, said, “They thought they were going to be cool until they realized how many Trumpers go to there restaurant and now you get this jumbled mess. Pathetic. ‘We host all politician for 90 years, except that one. We didn’t know how to handle police and customers at the same time.'”
Another said, in a somewhat vulgar post, “Is that Bud Light backpeddling I smell or just the bullshit realization that you fucked up. Either way, enjoy your shit sammich.” Similarly, another said, “Awfully convenient, now that the kitchen is way too hot. When are businesses going to learn? You don’t take political sides. Vet your management, and make damn sure they don’t bring politics into the workplace. Especially when serving the public. Good luck in bankruptcy court.”
On much the same note, another said, “Not good enough. And not allowing replies (and having this single post any NOTHING else to explain) shows you have something to hide. What “momentary confusion”? You will need to explain a bit more, otherwise I assume its just a euphemism for ‘one of our workers is a woke leftist who doesn’t like republicans, but we don’t want to fire them because we are also woke leftists’.”
Watch Vance shut down a woke reporter below:
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