A Donald Trump supporter from Virginia was feeling particularly “emboldened” earlier this week as he began harassing a bartender while traveling in Miami, Florida. In an enraged drunken state, Michael Nixon refused to pay his tab at a spot called Norman’s Tavern, instead opting to make “Hispanophobic” remarks at the bartender. “Hola. English, motherf——,” Nixon told the bartender, per WPLG Local 10. “I live in America. You speak English.”
Naturally, the bartender wasn’t going to let Michael’s tab slide, regardless of the racist remarks the tourist made. The drunk offender followed up his irrational behavior with, “F—ing Trump is going to deport your a–.” The man became “increasingly aggressive” before eventually attacking both an employee and the bartender during the exchange. Police later came and arrested the criminal, turning his unpaid tab of $130 into a $5,450 release bond.
If this were just a drunk tourist refusing to pay his bill at a bar, it likely wouldn’t have garnered much attention. However, not only was Michael Nixon a violent jerk, but he was a racist Trump supporter as well. Followers of the r/politics subReddit saw this crime as “such a small thing but it so typifies Trump supporters.”
“We just can’t coexist with these d— Trump supporters. They’ll always hurt you. It’s all they know,” remarks a top commenter. “They have been/are scumbags for life. Trump just emboldens it,” adds another. Another user makes a fairly solid point, observing how Donald Trump’s victory in the election and inauguration into office has made supporters believe they have nothing to fear when committing hate crimes.
“It’s really a dangerous thing that the mere election of Donald Trump has convinced some of these people that they are now either exempt from the law or entitled to antagonize anyone they’d like without consequences.”
Many of the comments on the subReddit’s post joked in unison that the Virginian tourist would get pardoned since he is a Trump supporter. Even though that likely won’t be the case for the arrested Michael Nixon, it’s clear many are resenting Trump’s recent decision to pardon over a thousand of the criminals who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Undoubtedly, this decision will have a lasting impact across the US, particularly among bad actors who support Trump.