Harris’s Pittsburgh spice store visit ignites flurry of backlash over shop’s activism – Washington Examiner
Kamala Harris’s recent visit to Penzy’s Spices, a progressive spice store in Pittsburgh, has triggered significant backlash from conservative circles. The store, known for its outspoken liberal stance and critical views on the GOP, gained notoriety for a sign it displayed during the Republican National Convention, which mocked “future fake electors” in connection with allegations surrounding the 2020 election.
Following Harris’s visit, conservative commentators and bloggers began criticizing both her and the store, leading to increased negative reviews on the store’s Yelp page. In response to the surge of reviews, Yelp temporarily paused new submissions to investigate the situation. Some customers expressed dissatisfaction with the store’s political messaging in their reviews, while others condemned the negative sentiments as harmful to national unity. Former President Donald Trump also commented on the controversy, adding to the discourse surrounding the incident. the incident highlights the intertwining of commerce and political activism in the current social climate.
Harris’s Pittsburgh spice store visit ignites flurry of backlash over shop’s activism
A visit Vice President Kamala Harris paid to a spice store in Pittsburgh has sparked outrage from conservatives due to the store’s publically progressive politics.
Penzy’s Spices, a Wisconsin-based spice store chain, is vocal about its progressive nature. During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, the store put up a sign welcoming “future fake electors” to the state as a dig to the dozens of alleged fake electors who have been indicted for efforts contesting the results of the 2020 election.
The store has an email list and “About Republicans” page on their website, which details the company’s distaste for the GOP. Following Harris’s visit on Saturday, some conservatives became aware of the company’s long progressive history.
“It started with some of the right-wing bloggers criticizing her and her visit and us,” Bill Penzey, the founder of the company, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “and then Fox News did sort of a fairly direct piece on us being the ‘meanest’ spice business in America, which I thought was kind of interesting or maybe even fun.”
Now some on the right of the political spectrum have been leaving negative reviews on the store’s Yelp page. Yelp paused their reviews of Penzeys due to the influx of reviews coming to the page.
“This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events,” a statement from the company said.
One reviewer posted that “my wife ordered from here not researching who they truly are. Received a Republican hate letter with the order. It’s the one that Fox News recently shared. Though the spice was nice, we will never order from here again !!! Think twice before buying their spice !!! Believe and support what you will, but hate will never bring our country together, only love, understanding, respect, and unity will heal our nation.”
“Used to shop here, but never again with their public stance on politics. I’ve voted republican and I’ve voted democrat, but I will never support censorship, or political bullying. I never thought their products were that special, anyway. I just liked being able to sift the jars,” another review said.
Former President Donald Trump also weighed in on the shop.
“Comrade Kamala Harris goes to an ultra Left Wing, Trump Hating, spice shop, which I hear has terrible, overpriced product, and calls for ‘unity,’” Trump posted on Truth Social before joking Democrats would replace her on the presidential ticket. “How about a Biden comeback?”
Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump activist with a large online following, posted on X calling for people to boycott the company.
“They hate Republicans and they hate Donald Trump! Look what I screen recorded off their website today. Why would a candidate for President campaign at a business that openly discriminates against conservatives???” Loomer posted.
There were, however, also a number of Yelp reviews supporting and defending the store and giving them five stars.
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