Trump-loving dad and 6-year-old boy kicked out of LGBTQ pub over MAGA hat

An Australian father claims he was shocked when he was asked to leave a proud LGBTQIA+ bar in Brisbane because he was wearing a Donald Trump hat, with staff telling him he was “not welcome” in the establishment.

Queensland father Rob Holt was attending a Halloween rave at The Wickham in Fortitude Valley with his wife and six-year-old daughter this weekend when a staff member asked him to leave because of his ‘Trump 2024’ hat.

“I’m just disappointed and confused in the end,” Mr Holt told Sydney 2GB radio of the meeting.

Mr Holt said he was waiting for his wife and daughter to return from the bathroom when a female staff member approached him at the bar and asked him to leave.

“She said, ‘Are you leaving now?’” Mr Holt told host Ben Fordham.

“I said, ‘Yeah, well, we’re about to leave. Why is that?’ And she said, ‘Well, you have to leave. We want you out of here.”

When pressed for a reason, Mr Holt was told it was “because you are wearing a Trump hat”.

“I said, ‘Well, OK, what does that have to do with anything?’ And she said, ‘We’ll be a gay bar, you can’t wear that here. We don’t want you here. There are people here who feel like they are not safe.”

“I said: really? I’ve never experienced that before.”

After reaffirming that this was the reason, Mr Holt told the staff member he felt “a bit insulted” and wondered “what would happen if the tables were turned?”

“I said, ‘Imagine you approach another establishment wearing a pride hat or something like that and you’re asked to leave. I imagine that would be a big problem. ”

Mr Holt argued that his hat contained no rude gestures or additional text other than ‘Trump 2024’ with three gold stars.

“(But) she kept saying, ‘No, you’re not welcome. You have to go now. You have to leave.”

The Queensland father said he was “disappointed” and “frustrated” by the ordeal, and received “mostly positive” reactions when he wore the hat on the street.

“What worries me most is that the new social contagion is spreading from America to Australia, where you are being denied services and thrown out of institutions, not because of who you are, but because of what you believe in. or what you wear,” he said.

“Last time I checked, we’re a multicultural country with many beliefs and we support a little person for what he believes in, and we support minorities and… everyone is allowed to have their opinion. Where a democracy (with) freedom of expression. I think (it shows) a little bit of how things are going these days, it’s disappointing.

Mr Holt said he has strong doubts he will return to the pub.

“I would like to go back, just like anywhere else. But it’s a bit shabby for them if that’s the way people are treated. I certainly wouldn’t treat anyone like that,” he said.

“If you have beliefs and you disagree with people, you should just try to understand people where they’re coming from, why they feel that way, (instead of) just throwing a hissy fit and getting rid of people just for the sake of it.”

Eight days after the US elections, the race between Trump and Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris remains neck-and-neck.

On Sunday, Trump held a sold-out rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.

About 20,000 supporters gathered at the iconic venue to hear from the former president and an array of celebrity guests, including Dr. Phil and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

News.com.au has contacted The Wickham for comment.