Chicago Mayor Condemns Bar Employee Who Was Accused of Spitting on Eric Trump

Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, walks outside of Trump Tower in New York City, N.Y., on Aug. 15, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has criticized an upscale bar employee who allegedly spat on Eric Trump earlier this week.

The son of President Donald Trump was visiting the popular cocktail lounge The Aviary on June 25 when the incident happened. The female employee, who has not been publicly identified, was quickly taken into custody by the United States Secret Service officers. But Eric later decided not to press charges against the employee.

At a press conference on June 27, Lightfoot denounced the employee while calling for civility.

“Civility matters. We may not agree and, in my case, I don’t agree with a lot of the things that President Trump stands for. Our values are different. But you cross the line when you assault someone. And you absolutely cross the line when you intentionally target someone for that kind of treatment. No one deserves that. No one,” Lightfoot said.

“This is America. People have a right to have their views, no matter if we agree with them or not. But we can not countenance people who go out of their way to express themselves in such a repugnant fashion,” she added.

She also called Eric Trump’s decision to not press charges “gracious” and urged the restaurant to take “appropriate” actions against the employee.

In an interview with Breitbart News, Eric labeled the incident as “purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems.” He implied that the incident was an example of Democrats showing frustration at the successes of his father’s Republican administration.

“For a party that preaches tolerance, this once again demonstrates they have very little civility,” he said. “When somebody is sick enough to resort to spitting on someone, it just emphasizes a sickness and desperation and the fact that we’re winning.”

Breitbart reported that the female employee had approached the president’s son as he entered the bar with companions. She allegedly uttered some anti-Trump statements that could not be made out distinctly and then spat at Eric.

Eric Trump took to Instagram not long after the incident sharing a quote by the Greek philosopher Socrates: “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the losers.”

The cocktail lounge said in a statement on June 26 that they had suspended the employee temporarily and condemned her behavior.

“What is certain is this: no customer should ever be spit on,” the statement said.  They also criticized people who are “calling for the demise of our business.”

“We hope this incident can, at least, serve to illuminate the current absurdity of the discourse in our politics,” they added.

There have been other public confrontations involving those associated with Trump and his administration.

In June 2018, The Red Hen restaurant in Virginia refused to serve Trump’s outgoing spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The restaurant was subsequently criticized by the president.

Tom Ozimek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.