A guest of the Trumps at the White House apparently punched a waiter in the face at a D.C. restaurant on Friday night. The guest, who was not identified in the report provided by NBC reporter Geoff Bennett, had been at the White House for the funeral service for the president’s late brother Robert, who abruptly passed away recently, and the subsequent incident took place at the Fig & Olive Restaurant in D.C. According to Bennett, who says he called the restaurant after receiving a tip about the incident, an employee confirmed that the group “lashed out when the restaurant couldn’t accommodate their large party.” Restaurant seating restrictions are currently in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Bennett reported:
‘I got a tip that someone in town for Robert Trump’s White House funeral punched a server tonight at D.C.’s Fig & Olive restaurant. I called and an employee there confirmed it: “Somebody blindsided one of my servers. Clocked him right in the nose.” I’m told some in the group were still carrying funeral programs. The “unruly” group lashed out when the restaurant couldn’t accommodate their large party. Employee: “It’s a pandemic, doing the best we can. Totally uncalled for.” Employee says no “high-profile” Trump was involved.’
I'm told some in the group were still carrying funeral programs. The "unruly" group lashed out when the restaurant couldn't accommodate their large party. Employee: "It’s a pandemic, doing the best we can. Totally uncalled for." Employee says no "high-profile" Trump was involved.
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) August 22, 2020
Bennett adds that the staffer who he spoke to at the restaurant was under the impression that the victim in the attack likely had their nose broken by the assailant. Bennett says he asked if security and/or law enforcement responded to the incident, and the employee said “they have security at City Center and he thought they were handling it with DC police. But neither security nor police did anything.” In other words, there seems to have been no visible response to the incident from law enforcement.
Employee: “My server’s nose is crooked. Pretty sure the guy broke it. They didn’t apologize. Just said, 'You don’t know how to speak to people.'"
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— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) August 22, 2020
Robert Trump passed away in New York, and that’s where he was slated to be laid to rest. Funerals at the White House are a rarity, although such events have nevertheless been held at the White House on occasion. Those who’ve been honored on the premises include a son of Abraham Lincoln, the wife and daughter of a Secretary of the Navy for the administration of the 1890s president Benjamin Harrison, a political adviser for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and others.
