A waitress went viral on TikTok after sharing a story about a MAGA couple she recently served.
Kate Swisher (@kateswisher) said that the couple assumed that she, like them, supports former President Donald Trump, who will go head-to-head against Vice President Kamala Harris next month.
Swisher said she didn’t understand why the couple would make that presumption.
Swisher’s TikTok inspired an avalanche of comments from fellow food industry workers sharing similar experiences and making jokes about Trump and his supporters.
As of Monday afternoon, her TikTok had amassed more than 1.7 million views.
What did the couple say about a second Trump presidency?
Swisher said that her earliest conversations with the duo started out innocent enough. Then she bought their drinks.
As Swisher delivered them, she said the woman said “I know who you’re voting for” in a sing-songy voice that almost sounded taunting. At first, Swisher was confused by the woman’s “odd” comment and walked away without responding.
“I come back to check on them… and the woman says, ‘Only a month left. I bet you’re excited,’” Swisher continued.
At this point, Swisher asked whether she was talking to her. The woman said she was. Then things—somehow—got even weirder.
As they were paying, she said, the man made a point to check whether he had cash to tip. That’s when his wife said, “Only a month left before you don’t have to pay taxes on tips anymore.”
At this point, Swisher finally reasoned that the patrons were Trump supporters—and apparently assumed that she was one, too.
While Swisher didn’t explicitly say who she supports, she purportedly did tell the couple she had little faith in a second Trump presidency.
“If Donald Trump wins, I have no confidence that he would ever influence Congress to introduce a bill to eliminate taxes on tips,” Swisher said.
The woman reportedly attempted to alleviate her concerns—to no avail.
“She said, ‘Don’t worry about that,’” Swisher recalled. She said that the woman then claimed that, if elected, Trump was going to “get rid of” the U.S. House of Representatives and that Trump planned on “restructuring the entire government.” This may have been a nod to the controversial Project 2025 plan drafted by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation.
When Swisher, who noted that she hadn’t been tipped yet, said she doesn’t mind paying equitable taxes and wondered how she could justify not paying taxes while her colleagues did, she said the woman stopped her.
“She says, ‘Don’t question it. Do not question him,’” Swisher recalled. The woman, she said, added that Trump “has a plan” and encouraged Swisher to blindly trust him.
@kateswisher I don’t talk about politics on here but I’m still reeling from this one 😱 #f #fyp #for #redhead #ginger #election #2024 #restaurantlife #serverlife ♬ original sound – Kate Swisher
Both candidates endorse ‘no tax on tips’ policies
Trump first raised the idea to stop taxing tips at a campaign rally in Las Vegas in June, according to PBS News.
“When I get to office we are going to not charge taxes on tips, people making tips,” Trump said, reportedly adding, “You do a great job, you take care of people, and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved.”
The proposal is intended to win the Republican favor with Americans who work in the service industry—including servers like Swisher. But, if implemented, this plan would also affect bartenders, hairdressers, manicurists, taxi drivers, and other workers who receive a significant portion of their income through tips.
In some ways, it’s not surprising that Trump has endorsed this as Republicans have long favored lower taxes. But Trump isn’t the only candidate backing the proposal. In August, Harris also said that she supports not taxing tips.
“When I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said.
This earned her the nickname “Copy Cat Kamala” from the Trump campaign.
Would this plan actually help servers?
According to PBS News, it’s not clear that low-income workers would actually benefit from this plan. The outlet reports that experts said the tax break would likely “put some money back in the pockets of middle- and high-earning service workers,” while having little to no effect on lower-wage workers.
That’s mainly because lower-wage workers do not earn enough to pay federal income tax and, therefore, wouldn’t benefit from a tax cut. According to an analysis from the Yale Budget Lab, only 2.5% of the workforce work in tipped occupations, and only 5% of workers in the bottom quarter of earners do. As a result, the policy would leave the vast majority of low- and middle-income earners out of the loop.
Some economists also warned that such a plan could result in restaurants moving from full wages to a tip-based payment approach. That would mean more service industries would expect a voluntary tip at the end of each transaction.
In the end, per the Tax Foundation, not taxing tips “could create plenty of headaches.”
Viewers respond to her experience
Swisher was understandably uncomfortable after the interaction with the couple. And while similar policies have been advocated by both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, that didn’t stop commenters from dunking on Trump—and his supporters—for endorsing the plan.
“Horrifying,” one person wrote. “Also I see the ‘no tax on tips’ as a way to undermine minimum wage workers on a larger scale.”
“The whole no tax on tips thing I believe is a way for wealthy people to receive bonuses in the form of tips,” another added.
Several jokingly suggested that the couple left “a concept of a tip.” In his debate with Harris, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act.
Many people who said they also work in the food service industry said they’ve had similar interactions with customers.
“The sheer amount of times I’ve heard this from tables is unnerving,” wrote one.
Others, however, were less focused on the policy and more perturbed by the couple’s comments. Many said they were spooked by the idea of blindly trusting Trump.
“DON’T QUESTION IT?!? Baby no,” one person said.
“That might be the most terrifying thing that I have heard in a long time,” another wrote.
“Question EVERYTHING,” a third commenter added.
Swisher was among them. “Is this a cult?” she asked at the end of the video.
The Daily Dot reached out to Swisher via TikTok comment.
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