A little boy in Texas got an adult dose of political mudslinging after opening a hot chocolate stand to raise money for the president's proposed border wall.
A little boy in Texas is stirring up controversy after opening a hot chocolate stand to raise money for President Trump's proposed border wall.
A man yelled at him, calling him a "little Hitler," though 7-year-old Benton Stevens had no idea who Adolf Hitler was. "The guy pointed at him and said it right to his face," Benton's mom, Jennifer, told InsideEdition.com. Her perplexed son said, "I don't know what that means."
But most responses were positive, his family said. And last weekend's pop-up stand, video of which went viral on social media, has led to more than $8,000 in donations to Benton's drive to help pay for Trump's wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.
"He is protecting our country," Benton replied when asked why he likes Trump and his border wall plan. What will the wall protect against? "Illegal immigrants," the child replied.
Parents Shane and Jennifer Stevens are members of the Republican National Committee and avid Trump supporters. They attended his 2016 inauguration in Washington, D.C., and Benton said he came up with the hot chocolate idea after watching the State of the Union address earlier this month.
Jennifer said Benton asked every day when he could set up his beverage stand. Last weekend, his parents relented and said yes. The family made posters and set up shop with a table near a parking lot.
"I thought he would set it up and he'd get bored and we'd be done," Jennifer said. But after two hours, Benton was still going strong, despite negative comments.
"That just fueled him," his mother said. "He's become this kid that I didn't even knew existed," she said."He's a quiet, sweet kid. He's just been passionate about this. Don't ask me why."
Benton has two older brothers, ages 14 and 10, and a 5-month-old little brother. "There's a lot of testosterone in this house," his mother said, laughing.
Despite her and her husband's membership in the RNC, Jennifer said, "It's not like we sit around and talk politics all day." Benton is "a normal kid," she added. "He plays soccer."
But he's become a very short businessman. "He likes to raise money," his mom said. His dad established a Venmo account, where purchases of "virtual hot chocolate" are pouring in. A cup sells for $2, but Jennifer says donations of all amounts have arrived, some as high as $500.
Benton keeps the money in an envelope and hopes to one day hand it to the president at the White House.
He doesn't mind negative comments about his hot chocolate stand. "I actually like that they're doing it because I'm getting more money because they're saying mean things," he said.
But he is still just a kid, Jennifer said. "He understands what a 7-year-old understands," she said. "He understands that people think he's racist."
But, she added, "we had to explain to him what racism is."
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