A Washington, D.C. pizzeria owner said she received more support than backlash for congratulating President-elect Trump on his 2024 win. She believes voters are "tired" of political polarization.
Mariya Rusciano, who co-owns Menomale Pizza with her husband Ettore, spoke about the reactions to her viral X post. "People started wishing… for our restaurant to go out of business, and now we've been here since 2012," Rusciano shared.
"Then they started saying how D.C. doesn't need fascist pizzerias," she continued. "They asked, how can we, as immigrants, congratulate President Trump? Then, of course, we were called all sorts of names... One lady in particular yelled profanities at my husband on the street."
Despite the negativity, most backlash stayed online. "There has been some upside to what we did," she added. "As the post went viral, we received many more messages of support. It really showed me that people, even in D.C., are tired of divisive rhetoric. It’s time we come together as fellow Americans."
Her post read: "The people have spoken. @realDonaldTrump won the popular vote and the electoral college. Congratulations! Can we gift @WhiteHouse a nice Italian wood-burning pizza oven?"
The reaction was swift. Angry comments flooded in from D.C. residents, where over 92% voted for Kamala Harris. One user asked if she was "trying to go out of business."
"What an odd tweet!" wrote Lisa, a local. "I spend a lot of time in Brookland, but I am so confused – are you trying to go out of business?"
Others threatened to boycott the pizzeria or called the post "tone-deaf." Rusciano wasn’t surprised by the criticism but explained her perspective.
"Quite frankly, restaurants in D.C. talk about politics regularly," she said. "One place even said they’d pop champagne if Harris won. We were just hopping on the trending topic, trying to promote ourselves."
She admitted she expected some backlash but didn’t anticipate the post would go viral. "Had Harris won, I would’ve posted a similar message," Rusciano clarified. "We didn’t think we were doing anything unique."
When asked if the stir impacted business safety, she said everything remained normal. "Things have been calm, and it’s business as usual," she assured.