Celebrity chef José Andrés is blasting President Donald Trump and says he is making it harder for restaurants in Washington D.C. to scratch out a living with his crackdown on crime.
The Spanish-born founder of the food aid non-profit World Central Kitchen accused the president of refusing to engage with the people of the District of Columbia and said Trump is “terrorizing” illegal immigrants.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Andrés slammed Trump, and wrote, “I understand why you are confused…all your time in DC you haven’t eaten ONCE outside the White House or your own hotel.”
He then falsely claimed that, “it’s a flat out lie that half the restaurants have closed because of safety.”
The chef has apparently not seen the reports of restaurant owners openly stating that they feel they are losing business because of the rampant crime in D.C.
Indeed, by the end of 2023, it was reported that 52 restaurants had permanently closed their doors in Washington and many of them pegged the loss on D.C.’s soaring crime rates driving customers away.
But Andrés goes on, ripping Trump and adding, “but restaurants will close because you have troops with guns and federal agents harassing people…making people afraid to go out.”
He ended his social media screed pleading for Trump to stop his immigration policies so businesses can continue getting cheap and docile labor from illegal aliens.
“Cities and towns and rural areas of America need policies that allow small business to thrive and all people including immigrants to live and work with dignity. People shouldn’t be afraid of their government…government should have respect for its people, not terrorize them,” he concluded.
The restaurateur was reacting to a video clip of Trump speaking about crime in D.C. posted by the rabidly anti-Trump Bulwark.
In the video, the president said, “Half the restaurants closed, because nobody could go, because they were afraid to go outside.”
D.C. business operators have been complaining that traffic has died down since the president called out the National Guard to put a dent in crimes in the District of Columbia. Since he implemented his crackdown the city went nearly two weeks without a murder for the first time in recent memory. The president’s policy has also resulted in more than one thousand criminals being taken off the streets.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
Read the full article here