The owner of Dallas restaurant Le Bilboquet, Stephan Courseau, attacked patrons Donald Trump, Jr. and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) over a gag photo taken at his restaurant over the weekend with the two shown posing with a giant cookie-cake decorated with an image of former President Barack Obama. In statements posted to Facebook and Instagram, Courseau accused Trump and Cruz of, ‘promoting disrespect and spreading hatred’ by posing with the Obama cookie-cake in his restaurant. Courseau’s accounts have since apparently been made private or taken down.
Trump and Cruz were attending a 40th birthday party for a mutual friend. Trump’s 40th birthday is this December 31st.
Trump posted the photo to his Instagram account with the caption, “With friends like these… some good friends decided that while my birthday is not for 2 weeks that they would get me an early 40th birthday cake. And what birthday is complete without an Obama cake? I figured it was so good that I would have to share it with Ted. 😂🇺🇸😂🇺🇸😂 #tx #texas #birthday #tedcruz #obama #cake”
The photo carried the geo-tag of “Le Bilboquet Dallas”, reportedly triggering calls for a boycott of the restaurant.
Another photo without Cruz was also posted.
The Dallas Eater posted the text of Courseau’s Instagram statement:
“The restaurant’s owner just responded to the deluge of commenters on Le Bilboquet’s Instagram account, saying, “Let me be clear, I share your indignation without any reservation.” He explains the duo were at his restaurant to celebrate a friend’s birthday, not for political reasons, and someone brought in the cake from an outside vendor to celebrate Trump Jr.’s upcoming birthday. He also says he wasn’t on the premises to intervene during the party.
On Le Bilboquet’s Instagram, he wrote in part:
“We at Le Bilboquet feel betrayed and sad. Restaurant business is about creating a hospitable environment for all, a non-partisan, non-politicized, nondiscriminatory and respectful environment. The fact that guests decided to use our restaurant as a platform to promote, disrespect, and spread hatred goes against everything we stand for. On a personal note, I am French and my wife is Mexican. We both believe in universal values of love, respect and tolerance.”
The Dallas Observer reported a longer version of the statement, posted to Facebook by Courseau:
…Social media response to the post has been polarized, as can be expected. Many users have voiced support for Trump Jr. and the cake; others chided Cruz and Trump Jr. for posing with a cake that some see as disrespectful. Some users, especially in Dallas, have called for a boycott of Le Bilboquet.
In a Facebook post this morning, Le Bilboquet owner Stephan Courseau confirmed Trump Jr.’s visit to the restaurant and expressed dismay over what has inevitably become a social media firestorm.
“Let me be clear, I share your indignation without any reservation,” Courseau wrote. “Both Donald Trump Jr. and Ted Cruz were attending a birthday celebration of one of our regular patrons who rented out our venue for a private event. The party was not for either one of them nor was it any kind of partisan rally.
“Someone that attended the party brought in an outside cake for Donald Trump Jr.’s upcoming birthday and we are not sure who that was. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Ted Cruz took pictures with the cake and posted on social media outlets.
“Someone that attended the party brought in an outside cake for Donald Trump Jr.’s upcoming birthday and we are not sure who that was. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Ted Cruz took pictures with the cake and posted on social media outlets.
“We at Le Bilboquet feel betrayed and sad. Restaurant business is about creating a hospitable environment for all, a non-partisan, non-politicized, nondiscriminatory and respectful environment. The fact that guests decided to use our restaurant as a platform to promote, disrespect, and spread hatred goes against everything we stand for.”
Courseau goes on to note that he is French and his wife is Mexican.
“We both believe in universal values of love, respect and tolerance,” Courseau wrote. “Values that we have found within the Dallas community. Our friends and patrons represent a wide spectrum of American beliefs including: Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. What brings them together is the same belief that we can live together with love, respect and tolerance. I made America my home a long time ago because of these values that embody the real American dream.
“I am truly sorry that such distasteful events happened at our venue and that these circumstances brought me to write this statement today. It reminds us that a divide still exists and that we have to keep promoting our core values, so that events like these don’t happen again. While I am disappointed and hurt, I still think it is possible.”…
End excerpt, complete Dallas Observer article at this link.
Both the Instagram and Facebook links in the respective articles have been disabled since publication. The space at the Observer for the image of the Facebook statement now reads, “This Facebook post is no longer available. It may have been removed or the privacy settings of the post may have changed.” The space at the Eater reads, “This photo or video has been removed from Instagram.”
In contrast, on Monday night CBS Television re-aired without controversy the Trump Inauguration Day episode of the Trump-hating and disrespecting Late Show with Stephen Colbert that opened with a gag video of government workers and officials sadly swapping out pictures of outgoing President Obama with incoming President Trump–or as the gag went on a photo of Vladimir Putin and closed with a photo of a horse’s ass representing Trump.
