A DeBary, Florida, restaurant owner posted a sign on the front door demanding supporters of President Joe Biden to “take your business elsewhere.”
“If you voted for and continue to support and stand behind the worthless, inept and corrupt administration currently inhabiting the White House that is complicit in the death of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, please take your business elsewhere,” Angie Ugarte, owner of DeBary Diner, wrote. “God bless America and God bless our soldiers.”
The sign was posted the same day that the thirteen U.S. service members lost their lives in Afghanistan from the suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Ugarte told Fox 35 Orlando. She believes that Biden is to blame for the deaths and that she wants no association with supporters.
“I was just angry. I was just let down,” she said. “I felt like one of those mothers, or wives, or sisters who were gonna get that knock on the door. If you really, really still stand behind what’s allowed this to happen and the way it happened — which was unnecessary — then I really don’t want to be associated with you in any way and I certainly don’t want your business.”
FL restaurant owner posts sign telling Biden backers to eat elsewhere after deadly Afghanistan debacle #Fox35 https://t.co/5CCHkwQXOY
— Andrea Jackson FOX 35 📺🇺🇸 (@AJacksonTV) September 1, 2021
The DeBary Diner has military veterans who are regular customers, according to the outlet. Ugarte has a wall dedicated to U.S. service members who have served the country. (RELATED: Poll: Majority Of Voters Blame Biden For ‘Mismanaging’ US Exit From Afghanistan)
Ugarte said that the public’s reaction to the sign has been “mixed,” some have no reaction and others complement the restaurant owner on the sign’s message. Locals have given different perspectives in regards to the sign.
“She has the right to not let anybody in the restaurant that supports a certain view,” Serenity Smith told Fox 35 Orlando.
“I wouldn’t go in there, I don’t appreciate it,” Louis Vasquez said.
Ugarte told the outlet she plans to leave the sign-up as long as American citizens remain in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken estimated Monday that at least 100 American citizens currently remain in Afghanistan who “want to leave” and the U.S. plans to evacuate them through diplomatic methods.
“The protection and welfare of Americans abroad remain the State Department’s most vital and enduring mission,” Blinken said. “If an American in Afghanistan tells us that they want to stay for now, and then in a week, or a month, or a year they reach out and say ‘I changed my mind,’ we will help them leave.”