A Michigan man altered a Halloween display that showed President Trump holding up the head of former President Barack Obama after social media users denounced it as racist.
Dave Huff, who owns Quality Coatings in Livingston County, Michigan, said he never considered the racial connotations the display could evoke when he put up the holiday decoration that shows a large scarecrow of Trump holding up Obama’s head in his left hand and an American flag in his right.
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“No race ever went into this thing,” Huff told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday. “It was a Halloween decoration that I guess went too far.”
He has since altered the display to remove Obama’s head and placed yellow caution tape bearing the phrase “PC-POLICE” across its body.
The initial display seemed to show rope around Obama’s head, which some people said resembled a noose, but Huff said that it was meant to show a spine and a move from the video game Mortal Kombat.
After it was put up and since it was taken down, dozens of people wrote negative Facebook reviews about the business.
“I’d rather spend my money with businesses that spread tolerance and respect, even towards those who you don’t align with,” wrote user Kelly Kathleen on Friday.
Despite the political nature of the display, Huff said he didn’t vote in the 2016 presidential election, saying, “I don’t support anyone. I’ve never voted for anyone other than myself.”
