Buffalo Wild Wings Cancels Then Uncancels Trump Viewing Party

Last Updated on October 10, 2019

A viewing party of President Trump’s rally scheduled for Thursday evening at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Michigan was cancelled then swiftly reinstated after a public outcry.

The event, hosted by the Livingston County Republicans, was supposed to be hosted at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Howell, Michigan. The description for the Facebook event invited people to “join other Keep America Great loving patriots,” at the restaurant, where they would also be selling Trump 2020 gear.

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However, Meghan Reckling, Chair of the LCRP, said in an email on Thursday that “after receiving a number of complaints,” the corporate office of Buffalo Wild Wings cancelled the event:

Due to the timing of the notice, we are unable to find a new location at this time. We are disappointed that Corporate waited until the last minute to make this decision. We are not surprised that those who do not agree with the President and his agenda would use their extreme tactics to bully businesses and try to limit our right to assemble. Regardless of their extreme tactics, we will continue our fight to win big here in Livingston County next fall!

Reckling encouraged members to contact Buffalo Wild Wings’s corporate offices to express their displeasure at its cancellation. The news was spread across Twitter by the Michigan GOP, and by Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party:

https://twitter.com/MIGOP/status/1182390389887655938

https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1182403135245094918

https://twitter.com/MIGOPChair/status/1182391887518470146

Many Twitter users were outraged at the decision:

https://twitter.com/realbrianthony/status/1182414474168426501

https://twitter.com/mlaskey99/status/1182396415252877313

https://twitter.com/Lamed_Vav/status/1182415273183178752

Within a couple of hours of the news initially breaking, and half an hour of it being spread online, Buffalo Wild Wings backtracked, and allowed the event to go ahead:

https://twitter.com/MIGOP/status/1182401403236618247

Well that didn’t take long. https://t.co/1D3EwBH60Y

— Malachi Barrett (@PolarBarrett) October 10, 2019

UPDATE: Reckling told National File that she was grateful for the outpouring of support from the community, and explained what she was told had happened:

I am grateful for the outpouring of support we received from fellow Republicans and Trump supporters when the news broke earlier of our event cancellation. After a number of conversations with store management we learned that a young shift manager prematurely canceled our event thinking we were hosting a rally, not a watch party. I would like to thank the Howell Buffalo Wild Wings, their management, and owner for working with us on rescheduling tonight’s event.

This version of events clashes with the initial narrative that Reckling was told, in that there had been “a number of complaints.” It is unclear whether these complaints ever existed in the first place, or whether they were simply made up as an excuse by the aforementioned manager.

In an email to National File, a spokesperson for Buffalo Wild Wings issued a statement on the incident:

The viewing event at the franchise-owned restaurant was inadvertently cancelled based on a misunderstanding, but was quickly reinstated. The group has in fact previously hosted events at the restaurant without incident. The franchise owner apologizes for the misunderstanding.