The fertile political soil of Starbucks cups has once again sprouted a lively debate with the social media-based fad known as "#TrumpCup."
On 18 November 2016, prominent Twitter user @bakedalaska advised supporters of Donald Trump to provide the name "Trump" to baristas at Starbucks when placing an order. Anticipating pushback, the user also urged fellow participants to film any Starbucks staff refusal to do so:
Operation #TrumpCup
1) Go to Starbucks & tell them your name is Trump
2) If they refuse take video
Pls share & spread the word pic.twitter.com/huPj4g6cqY
— Baked Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) November 18, 2016
The user (whose Twitter bio lists him as the inventor of #TrumpCup) subsequently took issue with framing of the initiative as a "protest":
Fake news reporting ! This is not a "protest", it's a statement! Obviously it's working!! #TrumpCup https://t.co/VybEXcc57t — Baked Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) November 18, 2016
He also tweeted an open letter to Starbucks underscoring that the #TrumpCup was not a protest of any description, and then offered well wishes to the brand:
My official letter to @Starbucks: pic.twitter.com/i5XpJrj1ys — Baked Alaska™ (@bakedalaska) November 18, 2016
At least one separate user uploaded video of what he said was a Starbucks employee refusing to provide his #TrumpCup, and threatening to call the police:
Starbucks employee refuses to write Trump on this mans cup and even calls the police. #TrumpCup pic.twitter.com/2VnSiyjyzs — Steve Hirsch (@Stevenwhirsch99) November 18, 2016
Media coverage of the #TrumpCup trend widely billed it as a protest (often critically), although no participants seemed to indicate that they were objecting to anything.
Before #TrumpCup, Starbucks cups were the subjects of controversy (real or imagined) in 2015, when a plain red holiday design was claimed to be "anti-Christian," and in November 2016, when a special green cup was claimed to be a holiday cup intended to placate or appeal to Muslims.