If you’re a liberal these days, you may have trouble keeping up with all of the new actions coming out of the Trump White House which enrage you. If you’re a conservative you’ve probably already lost track of the number of things the liberals are marching, protesting about, condemning and boycotting. On that last point you can now add one more to the list. The evil ownership of Taylor Gourmet, a local chain of hoagie shops around the Beltway, has gone too far and drawn the ire of progressive activists. (For those of you from other parts of the country, a “hoagie” is just another regional name for a sub sandwich, grinder or whatever you call it in your area.) The specific target of liberal ire is Casey Patten, co-founder of the business.

So what has Patten done to enrage the Left? Did he endorse the travel ban? Pay his female employees less? Offer to feed the workers when they start building the wall? Nope. He was photographed shaking Donald Trump’s hand after a ceremony announcing new White House initiatives to boost small businesses. And that was enough to let slip the hounds of protest. (Washington Post)

The co-founder of Taylor Gourmet angered some Washingtonians today by meeting with President Trump for a photo-op connected to his executive order cutting regulations for small businesses. Casey Patten, who co-founded the local chain of hoagie shops in 2008, was photographed shaking hands with the president in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. The meeting was first reported by Popville.com, and quickly led to Twitter calls for a boycott from its patrons, many of whom reside in the District of Columbia, which voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. Patten has not yet responded to multiple requests for comment.

If you want a small bit of irony to put the cherry on top of this story, check out the default ad campaign which Taylor Gourmet runs across the district. (Click on image for full size.)

That was apparently all it took. The owner of a string of sandwich shops showed up to mark the roll back of some regulations which should allow small businesses to be more competitive (and, you know… keep hiring people) and he’s being rewarded with a boycott. I checked in on the boycott on Twitter just to see what might have popped up.

Looks like I won't be eating at @TaylorGourmet anymore! And hope my fellow DC residents won't either #BoycottTaylorGourmet #NoBanNoWall https://t.co/KWuYUZIRQj — Moira Birss (@moira_kb) January 31, 2017

https://twitter.com/vailkoyo/status/826286034996625408

Possibly my favorite here. I’m wondering if the store will now actually feature a hoagie called the “Hate Sandwich.”

I don’t want to make it sound as if I’m disparaging these efforts entirely. In fact, I want to help. I have it on good authority that Donald Trump eats food. I’ve also personally seen footage of him drinking water. Are you really going to associate yourselves with this monster by mimicking his actions? I suggest you stop eating and drinking in protest until the President steps down. As for me, all this writing has made me hungry. I think I’ll go order a hoagie.