A 22-year-old New York City woman says she received death threats after she wore a hat to work on which appeared the phrase "America was never great," an obvious counter to Donald Trump's slogan, which he also wears on a hat, "Make America great again."
"The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement," Krystal Lake, 22, told SI Live. "I don't think it's a positive message to say, 'Let's look to the past.' "
Lake told the newspaper she wore the hat to work during her Sunday-morning shift at a Home Depot store on Staten Island when someone snapped a photo and posted it on social media.
On Wednesday, Lake said she awoke to text messages asking if she'd been on social media.
"Everyone kept asking me if I was on Facebook or Twitter, which I hadn't been," Lake told SI Live, "and then I saw how many people were sharing [the picture] and that it was going viral.
"I was honestly shocked—I didn't expect any of this to happen," she added.
Home Depot spokesman Stephan Holmes told the newspaper that the message on the hat Lake wore doesn't reflect the opinions of the home-goods store.
"We appreciate and understand the concerns of our loyal customers," he said. "In terms of the message, our associates are not permitted to wear items that reflect political statements. Unfortunately, no one on our management team saw her wearing the hat—otherwise, they would have had her remove it immediately."
Lake, a Bernie Sanders supporter, told the newspaper that Staten Island is a big pro-Trump area and that several employees have shown their loyalty to the Republican presidential front-runner with pins and pendants on their uniforms.
"For the past two months, there have been a few people I work with wearing 'Vote for Trump' pins on their uniforms," she said. "But no one ever says anything to them."
So Lake said that although she has received racist messages and death threats, she plans to wear her hat again.
"I feel it offended a lot of people because a lot of Trump supporters live in Staten Island," Lake told SI Live. "Trump is very rash and in your face, but when someone else has a message against him, his supporters can't take the criticisms.
"I know there are a lot of opportunities here," Lake added. "I just wish we would worry about making America better—not 'great again.' "
Read more at SI Live.