Trump Officials Can No Longer Eat Out in Peace

Sarah Sanders, Kirstjen Nielsen, and Stephen Miller have all faced pushback over dinner.

Chris Kleponis and Ron Sachs/CNP/ZUMA; Cheriss May/NurPhoto/ZUMA

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It’s been a rough week for Trump administration officials trying to enjoy a dinner out.

First came the run-in on this past Sunday, when White House adviser Stephen Miller was hounded while eating at DC’s Espita Mezcaleria. According to the New York Post, diners called him a “real-life fascist begging money for new cages.”

On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to leave Mexican restaurant MXDC after hecklers descended on the Washington eatery shouting, “Shame!” “End family separation!” and “If kids don’t eat in peace, you don’t eat in peace!”

(The New Yorker noted their odd choice of dining venues, given the political optics.)

A couple of days later, protesters gathered outside Nielsen’s home, blasting the ProPublica audio of detained children crying at an immigration facility.

Then, on Friday night, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave The Red Hen, a farm-to-table restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. “I explained the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation,” the restaurant’s co-owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, told the Washington Post.

Well, there’s always Chick-fil-A.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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