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President Trump sternly addressed the Red Hen restaurant, which expelled White House press secretary Sarah Sanders for working under his authority. Natasha Abellard of Veuer has history.
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White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says her expulsion from a Red Hen restaurant says more about the owner than she does.(Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images)

While politics divides Americans across the restaurant table and at the water cooler, companies are choosing more and more sides, and that does not seem to hurt the bottom line. In fact, it can help.

Business behemoths, such as the fast food chain Chick-fil-A, and small pop-stars like Red Hen, Lexington, Va., Who opened Friday President Donald Trump's spokesperson, Sarah Sanders, are clearly defining their positions on public policy and national issues.

Failure to surrender someone to political beliefs or activities is not necessarily considered discrimination under US law. For companies looking to take a stand, the divide between the red state and the blue state can be an opportunity to gain some cold green and hard.

It's "a reputational capital that they can build with their clients," said James Bailey, a management professor at George Washington University. "They know who buys their shoes or buys in that restaurant, what they do, is to retain those customers."

Customers who share the same values ​​or the same policy as straightforward businesses are more likely to attend. Even companies whose positions might be perceived as foreign at the national level know how those who spend money will react. Bailey pointed out that many Chick-fil-A restaurants are found in places where residents are opposed to gay marriage as the business.

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Patagonia criticized Trump's decision to significantly reduce the size of two national parks, just like the Penzey Spice Company, after the CEO accused the president of being racist. The chain of Hobby Lobby craft stores has asked for a religious exemption to avoid covering birth control under the Affordable Care Act, a fight that has made it all the way to the US Supreme Court . General Mills' presentation of an interracial family in a Cheerios ad and Subaru's long-standing adherence to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community has garnered much criticism and support.

According to Jeffery Patterson, a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, this amounts to a political identity converging towards identity consumerism.

"This recent intense meeting between business and politics is not so recent, it has simply become more visible because of the speed and ubiquity of digital media in the public sphere," he said. -he declares. "In the modern market, what we buy says something about who we are – or how we want to introduce ourselves."

When it comes to investors, the result is more important than politics.

"Wall Street is amoral: as long as something is performing – unless a company is engaging in really egregious practices, like blatant sexism or racism – they would drop it," said Bailey, of the George Washington University. "You have to go really far before they act."

He cited Starbucks as an example. The liberal policy adopted by outgoing executive president Howard Schultz has inspired conservative camps, but the dumping of his successful shares is not something that many are willing to do.

Companies that earn a fraction of what the coffee giant is participating in the national debate too.

Cox Farms in Centerville, Virginia, drew attention to display a placard that said "Stand up and resist," which was changed to "Resist White Supremacy" and "Stand Up Against". l & # 39; injustice. "

"We are a nation in crisis, and we can not be calm and pretend that all is well, because that is not the case," said co-owner Aaron Cox-Leow .

"We have the privilege, the power and a platform, and we believe that it is our responsibility to use them to denounce injustice," said Cox-Leow, "it does not matter. is not politics, but humanity and morality ". and we all have the responsibility to talk about it. "

She said that Sanders visited during the fall 2017 festival of the farm, but the staff let it be.

"We let his family enjoy their day at our farm," said Cox-Leow.

The spotlights that shine more in southwest Virginia on the red hen and its community remain bright for now as the nation looks at a mini-drama in a town of about 7,100 people.

"It's a small town, we love each other, we love our neighbors, but the opinions of others can really pass," said Madeline Haywood, who works at the Lexington Coffee Shop counter, near by. instead of working to have a united community. "

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The Supreme Court gives victory to a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding.
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Contribute: Caroline Simon and Alex Connor

Follow Zlati Meyer, USA TODAY reporter, on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer

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