Former Rare Staff
The owners of Cup It Up, an Arizona restaurant, are hoping to reopen their establishment “sometime soon” after “nasty” backlash generated by their pro-President Trump Facebook post forced them to close indefinitely.
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“We expected some shares, some discussion, but as it kept coming in, after about three hours of the pure nastiness, we decided to pull it,” co-owner Chris Smith said of the post on Thursday’s “Fox & Friends.”
He and co-owner Jay Warren claimed many of their employees quit out of safety concerns following the incident. However, they’ve now confirmed that they’re working to reopen in the near future and further explained their Facebook post.
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“The National Anthem [issue] really struck home with me, as a Navy veteran. My take on the national anthem is a patriotic one. I served in the Persian Gulf,” Smith said, adding that the song “took on a whole new meaning” for him after hearing it during a Super Bowl while serving overseas. “Fast-forward to today, now I turn on the TV and the gentlemen are kneeling. I know I’m not diminishing their cause, but there’s just no justification to disrespect our national anthem and the men and women who served in the armed forces.”
The owners’ controversial post included a list of things they “support 100 percent,” including, “our president,” “always standing for the national anthem,” “the U.S. Armed Forces” and “repealing Obama Care.” Also included was a list of things they “do NOT support.” Among those were “those that don’t respect our president,” “kneeling during the national anthem,” and “political correctness.”
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