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Eric Trump Says He Was Spit on at Chicago Cocktail Lounge

By
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
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By
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
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June 26, 2019, 9:03 AM ET
1st-Family members attend President Trump's one year anniversary with over 800 guests at the winter White House, Mar-a-Lago
PALM BEACH, FL - JANUARY 18: Eric Trump attends President Trump's one year anniversary with over 800 guests at the winter White House at Mar-a-Lago on January 18, 2018 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Imagess)Patrick McMullan Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

President Donald Trump’s son Eric Trump said the U.S. Secret Service took an employee of a Chicago cocktail lounge into custody after she spit on him.

Eric Trump told Breitbart News in a telephone interview that it was “purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems.” He implied that the incident was an example of Democrats’ showing frustration for 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.”

His comments came after reports of the alleged spitting incident Tuesday night at The Aviary in Chicago’s West Loop area. The Associated Press sent an email Wednesday seeking comment on behalf of the lounge.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Twitter that officers assisted the Secret Service with a “law enforcement matter” and deferred inquiries to the agency.

The Secret Service, White House and Trump Organization, which Eric Trump helps run, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from the AP.

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 President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the request of gay employees who objected to how Sanders defended Trump’s desire to bar transgender people from the military. That triggered debate about whether politics should play a role in how administration officials are treated in public.

Several other Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, were confronted in public around that time amid fury over an administration policy that led to an increase in the number of migrant children being separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Meet the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates you’ve (probably) never heard of

—Why 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are flocking to Fox News

—Meet the Republicans likely to challenge Trump in the 2020 primary

—How would a recession shape the 2020 presidential race?

—Beating Trump in 2020: What the electability conversation misses

—The campaign finance power behind Trump impeachment efforts

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