DC pizza shop owner calls for solidarity after facing criticism from locals for cheering Trump
Mariya Rusciano, owner of Menomale Pizzeria in Washington, DC, said she received hate speech after congratulating President-elect Trump on social media and explaining why businesses should focus on solidarity.
The owner of a pizzeria in Washington, DC believes some businesses in the nation’s capital should stand for unity as President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House next month, even if he faces backlash for doing so.
Mariya Rusciano, who runs Menomale Pizza in Brookland with her husband Ettore, knows firsthand what that means. On November 6, the small business owner and registered Democrat found himself in hot water after he shared a post on X congratulating Trump on his election victory.
“The people have spoken. @realDonaldTrump won the popular vote and the electoral college. Congratulations!” The owner of Menomale Pizza wrote about X on November 6. “Can we give the @WhiteHouse a beautiful Italian wood fired pizza oven?”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 13: US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the House Republicans Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. As is the practice of incoming presidents, Trump is leaving (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images/Getty)
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The post was filled with angry comments from DC residents, where over 92% of voters voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
A local asked Rusciano if he was “trying to go out of business.”
“What a weird tweet! You’ve been on my radar since I spend a lot of time in Brookland but I’m confused – trying to go out of business?” an X user named Lisa posted in response.
Several others threatened to boycott the pizzeria or cursed the business owners for their “dumb” speech.
“Make it easy to skip your business. I live in Brookland too,” wrote one X user.
“Thank you for revealing who you are! I will not buy anything from this business,” wrote another.
The owner of Menomale Pizza is calling for unity after facing criticism for a social media post congratulating Trump on the election. (Getty Images)
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The negative comments were concentrated on social media, Rusciano told Fox News Digital, although they received a few email messages and one woman even hurled insults at her husband outside their store.
Rusciano clarified that he would have sent the same message if Harris won the election and did not feel like they were “doing anything unique” among DC businesses by sharing posts about the election in the political city.
“I was expecting unpleasant comments. But in the end, both candidates asked for unity and emphasized that unity is very important in their whole campaign. So I didn’t think it would go viral like it did,” he said. Fox News Digital.
Still, Rusciano feels the political discourse in DC has become “much more intense” and “personal” than when she and her husband opened their business thirteen years ago.
Critics of President-elect Donald Trump protest against his policies in New York City on November 09, 2024. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP) (Photo by LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“When I voted for the first time in 2012, it was not good for me to continue talking to people who voted for someone else,” he said, lamenting the practice of cutting off family members with different political beliefs. “At the end of the day, we must respect the will of the people regardless of which party we belong to.
After the initial backlash to her post, Rusciano said she received “a lot of messages of support,” which was “really encouraging.”
He strongly believes that America is not as divided as those on social media like to portray it.
“Sometimes it’s good to get off social media and go outside and talk to real people in real life,” said Rusciano. “Everybody has their own opinions. But that doesn’t mean you should treat people less or disrespect them because of their political beliefs or anything else, really. We all deserve respect.”
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A number of food workers in Washington, DC have vowed to refuse to serve incoming Trump administration officials, according to a recent report. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
His comments come after several D.C. food workers vowed to refuse service and cause further disruption to Trump officials visiting their restaurants over the next four years.
In a comment by The Washingtonian, several bartenders and servers promised to avoid certain officials or use other small actions to resist these figures to restore their “power”.
Nancy, a grocer, told the store that she would refuse to serve certain Trump officials. If his employer tried to force him, he said he would quit his job “on the spot.”
“It has the power to make it known that you’re not comfortable with a certain situation, and it doesn’t have to be such a big game,” said Nancy. “It’s just particles of resistance that come together, and a little bit of resistance that other people will see and hopefully feel empowered to resist those charges.”
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A DC pizzeria owner doesn’t believe the food workers who vowed to “stand up” to Trump officials when they dine out represent the majority of workers and business owners in the industry. (iStock / Stock)
Rusciano doubts these workers would keep their promises not to work for Trump officials and believes most workers in the DC food industry don’t want to be associated with this kind of “intolerance.”
“I believe that that article actually represents a really small sample of people in the field. And again, I personally don’t believe that they would actually go beyond their words in the article, which, again, is wrong. It shouldn’t be like that. The situation should be one of inclusiveness and unity,” added Rusciano.
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