Politics January 30, 2017
It’s hard to take seriously this threat by Donald Trump supporters to stop drinking their morning macchiato.
After all, their last Starbucks boycott, called Operation #TrumpCup and made in protest at the removal of Christmas-themed cups, didn’t gain much traction.
But this time they are trying something new. A different hashtag.
After Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz pledged to hire 10,000 refugees to challenge Trump’s immigrant ban, the president’s supporters took to social media to unleash a tweetstorm.
Trump supporters are trying to rally the rest of the nation to boycott the business, arguing that Starbucks is giving away jobs that could be filled by American veterans. Thanks to them, the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks has been trending nationwide.
#BoycottStarbucks because those job offers could go to the already unemployed or homeless veterans. Refugees can get in line sorry not sorry
— Elijah Medford (@HighSkyEli) January 31, 2017
@nia4_trump @FemalesForTrump @Starbucks @POTUS enough said! Make it hurt their profit margin and they will follow the rules. #boycott pic.twitter.com/AZlbmZiZQ2
— mattdusmc (@Donaldson2016) January 30, 2017
While these conservatives think they have a valid argument on their side, the odds of this boycott actually succeeding are slim.
Id like to BET yall conservatives wont #boycottstarbucks lets be real its ur life source??
— Dabvid (@David_Huff24) January 31, 2017
White ppl boycotting Starbucks is like fish boycotting water.White ppl out here playing.Y’all gonna boycott mayonnaise nxt #BoycottStarbucks
— Og Native American (@__3SB) January 30, 2017
#BoycottStarbucks! Their still boycotting everything huh lol,Conservatives
boycott:Kellogs,Hamilton,Starbucks,ppl,etc!Boycott yourselves??— Donnedia Edmond (@donnedia) January 30, 2017
Besides, aren’t Trump supporters the ones who said protesting was a waste of time?
Republicans: Protesting is pointless, the Women’s March won’t do a thing.
Republicans a week later: #BoycottStarbucks
— Anika Sundheimer (@anikaamarieee) January 30, 2017
But who can blame them when they’re just following in the footsteps of their presidential champion?
It was Trump himself who previously suggested a Starbucks boycott after the business announced its decision to abandon its Christmas-themed cups. Cue the conservative outrage over some Christmas tree drawings.
“I have one of the most successful Starbucks, in Trump Tower. Maybe we should boycott Starbucks? I don’t know. Seriously, I don’t care. That’s the end of that lease, but who cares?” Trump said to a crowd during his 2015 primary campaign. “If I become president, we’re all going to be saying Merry Christmas again, that I can tell you. That I can tell you.”
In fairness, the recent #BoycottStarbucks movement is gaining much more traction than a previous Starbucks protest. In 2016, some Trump supporters had the brilliant idea to boycott Starbucks by not actually boycotting it.
Instead of getting their coffee at a different business, proponents of this movement were supposed to go to Starbucks and tell the barista that their name is “Trump.” If the workers refused to serve them, they would take a video and post it online.
Operation #TrumpCup
1) Go to Starbucks & tell them your name is Trump
2) If they refuse take video
Pls share & spread the word pic.twitter.com/huPj4g6cqY
— Based Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) November 18, 2016
Dubbed as operation #TrumpCup, CNN reports that this protest received at least 27,000 retweets. But it clearly failed to gain any further traction.
This time around, it looks like Trump supporters had the right idea … but still not one that would be very effective.
Thank you, @Starbucks CEO for committing to hire 10,000 refugees.
To all those tweeting #boycottstarbucks, thanks for the shorter line.
— nikita (@nikitakhara) January 30, 2017
I mean, if you #BoycottStarbucks, this just means I’ll get my coffee in a shorter and less xenophobic line; a true win-win for all.
— Dan Lim (@dan_limb) January 30, 2017
Long story short? Starbucks will be just fine.
Me scrolling through the #boycottstarbucks hashtag like pic.twitter.com/mZTlaggB1L
— megs (@Meguhhhh) January 30, 2017
Meanwhile, as Trump supporters miss their morning coffee, the other side of the political party is demanding people to #DeleteUber.
Initially, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a heavily immigrant and Muslim union, stopped services to and from the airport in solidarity with the protests on Jan. 28. Uber, on the other hand, decided to do the opposite. The company dropped surge pricing around the airport.
Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient.
— Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) January 29, 2017
Infuriated protesters, however, accused the company of taking advantage of the situation. Others were mad at Uber for even taking fares to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. But most people were angry at the fact that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick hasn’t stepped down from Trump’s economic advisory council.
When you ride with Uber, hate rides with you. #deleteuber.
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) January 29, 2017
Regardless of the reason, this protest seems to be doing much better than the Starbucks boycott. Thanks to the #DeleteUber campaign, Lyft, the company’s rival, surpassed Uber in downloads on Jan. 29 for the first time ever, reports the Verge.
Trump supporters, take note. That’s apparently how protests are done.
