Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, was refused service at a restaurant on Friday, sparking angry accusations that Donald Trump’s aides are the target of liberal "bigotry".

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Mrs Sanders wrote on Twitter: "I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, Virginia to leave because I work for the president and I politely left.

"Her (the owner’s) actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so."

The confrontation comes at a particularly tense time in American politics, with protests growing over the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy that has separated children from parents. It follows months and years of growing polarisation in American politics - the cause and effect of Mr Trump’s rise to power.

Republicans lost no time in accusing liberals of policing restaurants.

Mrs Sanders’ father Mike Huckabee, the former Republican presidential candidate, said: "Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. Or you can ask for the ’Hate Plate’. And appetisers are ’small plates for small minds’."

Earlier in the week, Mr Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, cut short a dinner at a Mexican restaurant after protesters shouted "Shame!" until she left.

Mrs Sanders’ treatment at the restaurant created a social media commotion with people on both sides weighing in.

On Yelp, a reviewer of the restaurant wrote: "Don’t eat here if you’re a Republican, wearing a MAGA hat or a patriot."

But other reviewers supported the restaurant owner’s actions.