Man's anti-Trump signs celebrate Pittsburgh icons, customs
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A doctor showed his displeasure with Donald Trump's campaign stop Wednesday in Pittsburgh by posting signs playfully suggesting the Republican presidential candidate doesn't respect city icons and customs.
Dr. Eric Rickin, a psychiatrist who lives in nearby Fox Chapel, displayed a custom-made sign in his yard that declares, "Trump Likes Hunt's Ketchup," a competitor to the Pittsburgh-based Heinz brand. Another says, "Trump Moved My Parking Chair," a reference to the practice of using chairs to save on-street parking spaces.
Rickin displayed the signs ahead of an evening visit by the Republican front-runner to tape a Fox News television appearance at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, near the University of Pittsburgh campus, followed by a rally at the city's convention center.
"I feel his whole campaign and his positions are absurd. But when you try to argue with logic, it doesn't really work," Rickin said.
Chatham University food studies Professor Alice Julier said the ketchup insult and another sign that says "Trump Hates Pierogies" - Polish dumplings popular in the region - are "so Pittsburgh."
"In Pittsburgh, what defines you as a person and a place is how people feel about their food," Julier said. "Mixing local food loyalty with questioning whether a politician would support it is a cool way of bringing people together."
Trisha Cunningham, a volunteer at Trump's campaign office in nearby Monroeville, said she "really got a kick out of the signs," which she called "funny" and "comical."
"I find it absurd that someone would use 'absurd' to fight 'absurd,'" she said.