Pet shop owner claims he was tricked into standing behind Trump for health-care photo op

President Trump displays executive healthcare order.

(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 17 October 2017

A Massachusetts pet supply company owner claims he was "duped" by the White House into appearing in the background of a photo of President Trump signing an executive order on health care. "I want to say strongly and clearly: I do not support this executive order," wrote Dave's Soda & Pet City owner Dave Ratner. "I had absolutely no clue he was adding all the onerous changes. I was duped, I am an idiot. I did not vote for Trump and I am not a Trump supporter."

Ratner said he was invited to the White House because of his involvement with the National Retail Federation, but that White House officials had not fully revealed what Trump would be signing:

We have long supported an effort that would give small businesses more flexibility in purchasing health insurance and we were told that a ceremony would announce that Associations could now provide members with group insurance rates (making health insurance more affordable for our employees).It was obviously an error in judgment to believe the White House that this was the only change they would be announcing. Many of the other changes in the executive order are likely to make it harder for local residents to get affordable health care — the exact opposite of what I was hoping for when I went to Washington. [Dave Ratner, via MassLive]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.