A Texas baker says she received death threats after selling a batch of cookies with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s face on them.
Haley Popp has put the limited-edition treats up for sale at her bakery The Hive in Flower Mound, which has been in business since 2018.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘We only have a few dozen! Order online or come by!!’
Although they sold out quickly, what came next was much more negative and expected for Popp.
Popp received bitter messages, ranging from criticism of her physical appearance to hopes that her bakery “and all the gays” would burn down.
A Texas baker says she received death threats after selling a batch of cookies with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s face on them. Haley Popp has put the limited-edition treats up for sale at her bakery The Hive in Flower Mound
While the treats sold out quickly, what came next was much more negative and expected for Popp
The baker has seen this happen in the past when she was the target of a line of cookies for LGBTQ Pride Month.
She said of the response to her cookies, “This company is just an extension of who I am, and I don’t think I need to be quiet. I built this platform. Why shouldn’t I use it?’
She has also sold cookies with Kamala Harris’ face on them, cookies themed around the Charli
Popp, an occasional participant on Food Network reality programming, says she was told to “shut up and bake,” and refused.
“I never post anything fueled by hate. “I literally just post pictures of cookies and that gets me a death threat,” she told the newspaper Dallas Morning News.
She claims to have been threatened in every way, from shouting on the phone and online to even letters composed using magazine cutouts.
Delving into politics has never hurt her business and has only fueled her determination to speak out about what she cares about.
‘You can’t keep people quiet when they want to talk. I think a lot of small businesses need to be more authentically themselves. “It’s no way to live if you’re just silenced,” she said.
The baker has seen this happen in the past when she was the target of a line of cookies for LGBTQ Pride Month
Popp also sold cookies with Kamala Harris’ face on them, cookies themed around the Charli
Other small businesses often try to network with her and commiserate with similar experiences of harassment.
“We have an army of people behind us. We are not alone in this community.”
Bakers often try to get into the spirit of things as the election approaches, including an Ohio bakery trying to correctly predict the outcome of the 2024 election through the sale of candidate-themed treats.
Busken Bakery in Cincinnati has been wrong only once in the past four decades in predicting the results of the presidential race.
The store’s various locations are selling cookies with both candidates’ faces on them — as well as a third way “Cookie Party” option with a smiley face — and are keeping count in an attempt to predict who will win in November.
So far, the store’s history could be great news for Donald Trump, who has outsold Kamala Harris cookies 2,953 to 2,134.
It’s always important to note that potential third-party candidates are playing spoilers, as the “Cookie Party” treat has sold 397 “votes” so far.
A bakery in Pennsylvania is also using cookies to help predict the winner of the 2024 presidential election.
The Kamala-is-brat themed treats from Popp or one of the many bakers who have gotten into the electoral baking spirit
Some bakeries, like Busken Bakery in Cincinnati, are using Trump and Harris-themed cookie sales to predict the election
Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro is tracking sales of their red Trump cookies and blue Harris cookies as customers from across the U.S. place orders in favor of their candidate choice.
Bakery owner Kathleen Lochel has been sharing the progress of her sweet experiment on social media, noting earlier in the day that “political cookies are sold out for Saturday.”
As of Friday morning, the small business had sold a total of 5,200 Trump cookies, compared to just 500 Harris cookies.