Home Depot calls worker's hat 'inappropriate' after furious Trump supporters complain

Staten Island Advance

Supporters of Donald Trump's presidential campaign are furious over a Home Depot worker who was spotted wearing a hat critical of the US.

The hat reads "America was never great" — which is a play on Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America great again."

Someone snapped a photo of the employee wearing the hat at a Home Depot in Staten Island, and shared it online.

The photo went viral on social media.

Hundreds of Trump supporters are now threatening to boycott Home Depot in response.

"This is disgusting," customer Trevor McNulty wrote on Home Depot's Facebook page. "If we do not hear what action was taken against this employee and the manager, I will never step foot in any of their stores again. You've got until Monday HD." The comment has been "liked" 54 times.

Another person wrote, "If this woman is not fired I will never shop at Home Depot again. She represents everything that is wrong with our country!"

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/733039707454464000
Hey @HomeDepot you are OK with this????????? What an insult to #Vets and ALL Americans #Vets4Trump #Trump2016 pic.twitter.com/BjM835m4rH

Home Depot has swiftly responded to critics on Twitter and Facebook, saying the hat was inappropriate.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/733072353912094721
@Bikers4Trump Agree this isn’t appropriate & we wouldn’t allow it, but the store team didn’t see it. This doesn’t represent HD’s opinion.

The employee who wore the hat, 22-year-old Krystal Lake, is now getting inundated with death threats, according to the Staten Island Advance.

"The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement," Lake told the Advance. "I don't think it's a positive message to say, "Let's look to the past.'"

She claims that none of her managers reprimanded her for wearing the hat. She also claimed that she's not the only employee sharing a political message in stores. She says she has seen other employees wearing pins supporting Donald Trump.

Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes spokesman told Business Insider that it's against company policy for employees to wear items that reflect political statements, regardless of candidate or party. 

When asked whether any action had been taken against Lake following the public outcry, he said, "The management team addressed it with her."

"I’m not going to be specific other than to say that if any associate refuses to follow any of our policies, it can lead to termination," he added.

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