White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, last night because she works for the Trump administration. Sanders confirmed the reports this morning on Twitter.
“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA, to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her 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,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders’ father former Arkansas Governor and conservative commentator Mike Huckabee criticized the restaurant in a tweet after his daughter’s.
“Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the ‘Hate Plate’. And appetizers are ‘small plates for small minds,’” the elder Sanders wrote.
The incident Friday night was first reported by TMZ who cited a waiter who said Sanders was asked to leave based on “moral grounds.” Sander was served “for a total of two minutes before my owner kicked her out along with seven of her other family members,” the employee said.
The outrage caused The Red Hen in Washington, D.C., to tweet about their lack of affiliation with the Virginia restaurant. “Good morning! @PressSec went to the unaffiliated @RedHenLex last night, not to our DC-based restaurant,” a tweet from @RedHenDC read.
This was the second time this week that a member of the administration was harassed at a D.C.-area restaurant because of its policies. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was heckled at a Washington Mexican restaurant on Tuesday over the administration’s policy of separating young children from their families at the U.S.’ southern border.
Nielsen was forced to leave the restaurant amid cries of “Shame!,” and “If kids don’t eat in peace, you don’t eat in peace,” by protesters.
Photo by Dan Scavino Jr. via Twitter