--- description: Mitch McConnell was confronted in a Louisville, Ky., restaurant on Friday night in the senator's latest encounter with protesters. title: Angry Diners Confront Sen. Mitch McConnell at Restaurant image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt580d907ea6a461bc/69893d1d22fb854f71e26f22/mcconnell-kentucky-restaurant.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Kentucky](/tag/kentucky/) ## Kentucky Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Angry Diners Confront Sen. Mitch McConnell at Kentucky Restaurant ## Video: Mitch McConnell Is Confident Country Will Move Past Kavanaugh Fight [Watch (HLS stream): Mitch McConnell Is Confident Country Will Move Past Kavanaugh Fight](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x3ygmKX2.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2018-10-06. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Says Nomination Battle Good for Republicans_  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2018 5:05 PM CUT  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talks to reporters with Sen. John Barrosso (R-WY) (L) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) following their party's weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol May 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talks to reporters with Sen. John Barrosso (R-WY) (L) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD) following their party's weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol May 16, 2017 in Washington, DC.Getty Images  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2018 5:05 PM CUT Mitch McConnell was confronted by fellow diners in a Louisville, Ky. restaurant on Friday night in the Senate majority leader’s latest encounter with protesters. McConnell and his wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, were dining at Havana Rumba, a popular Louisville Cuban restaurant, when he was accosted by fellow patrons. One man took McConnell’s to-go box off the table and dumped it on the sidewalk, [reported the _Courier Journal_](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/20/mitch-mcconnell-elaine-chao-heckled-louisville-havana-rumba/1710755002/ "undefined"). “Why don’t you get out of here?” the man yelled at McConnell according to a video [obtained by TMZ](http://www.tmz.com/2018/10/20/senator-mitch-mcconnell-confronted-restaurant-protesters/ "undefined"). “Why don’t you leave the entire country alone?” McConnell did not respond, while other patrons told the man to leave. Earlier that evening, a woman approached McConnell’s table and called him a “traitor” while other patrons in the restaurant clapped, according to the _Courier Journal_. td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;} The incident is the latest in a string of confrontations McConnell has had with protesters over the last few months. McConnell was [confronted](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/03/kavanaugh-vote-mitch-mcconnell-airport-protesters/1516719002/ "undefined") by a group opposing the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this month. He was also [accosted](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/06/26/you-leave-my-husband-alone-elaine-chao-mitch-mcconnell-confronted-over-family-separations/?utm%5Fterm=.b1da2b6055e5 "undefined") after a dinner at Georgetown University in June, and [heckled](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/07/07/mitch-mcconnell-confronted-louisville-protesters-saturday/765610002/ "undefined") by a group of protesters in Louisville in July. A spokesperson for McConnell told the Courier Journal that the senator and his wife “appreciate those who spoke up against incivility” and added, “as the leader often says, the Senate will not be intimidated by the antics of far-left protesters.” Earlier this month, McConnell [called the demonstrations against Kavanaugh’s appointment “the mob.”](http://time.com/5417804/mitch-mcconnell-thanks-the-mob-gop-political-gift-kavanaugh/ "undefined") He thanked them for a “great political gift,” in that he saw their actions as motivating the Republican base. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/"},"headline":"Angry Diners Confront Sen. Mitch McConnell at Kentucky Restaurant","datePublished":"2018-10-21T17:05:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:47:59.705Z","description":"\"Why don't you get out of here?\" a man yelled at McConnell","url":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/","keywords":["Kentucky","Senate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt580d907ea6a461bc/69893d1d22fb854f71e26f22/mcconnell-kentucky-restaurant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alejandro de la Garza","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt580d907ea6a461bc/69893d1d22fb854f71e26f22/mcconnell-kentucky-restaurant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Lawmakers Speak To Press After Weekly Policy Luncheons","caption":"Senate Lawmakers Speak To Press After Weekly Policy Luncheons","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/kentucky/","name":"Kentucky"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/","name":"Angry Diners Confront Sen. Mitch McConnell at Kentucky Restaurant"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mitch McConnell Is Confident Country Will Move Past Kavanaugh Fight","description":"Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Says Nomination Battle Good for Republicans","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/x3ygmKX2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-10-06T21:49:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x3ygmKX2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5430541/diners-confront-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```