On 5 September 2016, 17-year-old Facebook user McKenzie Gill posted that an employee in the bakery department of an Albertson's grocery store in Bossier City, Louisiana, had declined her request to inscribe the phrase "Trump 2016" on a cake she was ordering for her upcoming 18th birthday party:
According to local television station KSLA, Gill asked for the frosting inscription because she wanted a Trump 2016 party theme in conjunction with her voting in her first presidential election.
"I was just venting on Facebook when I made the status that I made, I didn't think I was going to get as much attention as it did," explained 17-year-old McKenzie Gill.
Gill's excited about voting in her first Presidential election. Not only does she want to share that excitement with her friends, Trump 2016, is the theme for her upcoming party.
"Trump is just someone I really look up to," said Gill.
When she and her Mom went to order her cake at Albertson's on East Texas Street in Bossier City, they weren't expecting the reaction they got.
"We just need an American flag cake with Trump 2016 on it, and right when I said 'Trump' the lady just [makes face] 'Trump'? And she was like, 'I can make you a flag cake, but I'm not going to write Trump on it,'" explained Gill.
Gill says they decided to take their order elsewhere, and notified store officials.
Albertson's spokesperson Connie Yeates maintained that the turndown stemmed from an employee's misunderstanding about the use of copyrighted phrases and was not a politically-motivated issue:
"We apologize to our customer in Bossier City for the situation regarding the cake that was requested. Our Bakery staff member misunderstood the training provided regarding copyrighted phrases, and incorrectly informed the customer we could not fulfill her request. We would be happy to provide the cake as the customer requested."