J.D. Vance, the vice presidential nominee, attempted to hold a campaign meet-and-greet at Primanti Bros. but was turned away. The ultra right-wing white supremacist never managed to enter the Restaurant and Bar in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. In contrast, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz visited a different restaurant of the same chain only a month ago.
A Vance campaign aide said the team had scheduled a visit to meet with supporters at the popular Pittsburgh-area eatery. But a few minutes after they get there, the employees tell the campaign that “this is not a campaign stop” and “JD’s not allowed in,” even though management was allegedly made aware of their upcoming visit. The source also adds that the manager was so set on making the group leave that she even threatened to call the police.
As the fed-up Trump-Vance supporters were let out, they reportedly booed at the restaurant staff in frustration.
The chilly greeting stood in stark contrast to a Harris-Walz campaign stop at a Primanti Bros. in Moon Township just the previous month. On August 18, Harris and her team were invited inside. But the affair also prompted controversy among locals who were told to leave the restaurant early for a private event.
A private event with Vice President Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff greeted patrons inside the Harris campaign press conference. Videos from the rally circulating on ABC News showed a packed dining room of patrons-fed, and some Trump supporters outside yelling that everyone in the restaurant was “actors.”
One protester outside was overheard shouting, “Holy hell, all these actors in these vans.”
Despite being asked to vacate the property, Vance and his campaign were still able to connect with people outside of the restaurant. Images from the scene showed Vance interacting with enthusiastic supporters, signing autographs and taking pics.
As he left, Vance said to cheers from the crowd: “We paid for everybody’s meals, gave a good tip, and of course when I give a good tip — this is how it should be with all tax proposals — I said no taxes on tips.”
He also asked his followers not to hate the employees. None of that was a surprise to Vance, who told the worker, “It’s ok, don’t take it out on you. She just got a little nervous, but it’s a really good local business. Let’s keep on supporting it.”
Primanti Bros. later released a statement via social media in which they commented that the last-minute nature of the news had left some staff confused.
“Without any advance notice, today’s campaign stop caused some momentary confusion for our staff. However, Senator Vance and his team were welcomed to our restaurant shortly after and engaged with our guests inside and on the property. Senator Vance’s supportive comment that our manager got a little nervous given the Secret Service, police and crowd accurately reflected the nature of what occurred, and we are glad that it was resolved quickly.”