DC pizza shop owner calls for unity after facing backlash from locals for congratulating Trump

The owner of a pizzeria in Washington, D.C., believes other businesses in the nation's capital should stand for unity as President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House next month, even if they face backlash for doing so.

Mariya Rusciano, who runs Menomale Pizza in Brookland alongside her husband Ettore, knows firsthand what that means. On November 6, the small business owner and registered Democrat, waded into hot water after she shared a post to X congratulating Trump on his election victory.

"The people have spoken. Donald Trump won the popular vote and the electoral college. Congratulations!" The Menomale Pizza owner wrote on X on November 6. "Can we gift @WhiteHouse a nice Italian wood burning pizza oven?"

The post was flooded with angry comments from DC residents, where over 92% of the electorate voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.

One local asked Rusciano if she was "trying to go out of business."

"What an odd tweet! You were on my radar as I spend a lot of time in Brookland but I am so confused - are you trying to go out of business?" an X user named Lisa posted in reply.

Several others threatened they would boycott the pizzeria or cursed out the business owners for their "tone-deaf" remark.

"Made it pretty easy to skip your business. I live in Brookland too," one X user wrote.

"Thanks for exposing who you are! Will never be buying anything from this business," another posted.

The negative comments were mostly limited to social media, Rusciano told Fox News Digital, although they also received a few email messages and one woman even shouted profanities at her husband outside their shop.

Rusciano clarified that she would've posted a similar message had Harris won the election and didn't feel like they were "doing anything unique" among DC businesses by sharing a post about the election in the political town.

"I expected some unhappy comments. But at the end of the day, both candidates called for unity and emphasized that unity is so important throughout their campaign. So I did not think it would go viral as as much as it did," she told Fox News Digital.

Still, Rusciano feels political discourse in DC has become "more heated" and "more personal" than it was when she and her husband opened their business thirteen years ago.