June 24, 2018

As we already discussed here, it seems there's been "an uptick in public shaming and shunning of White House officials," with DHS Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen being met with jeers at a Mexican restaurant, dead-eyed White House adviser Stephen Miller being greeted by protesters while trying to eat out, and then White House spokes-liar Sarah Huckabee-Sanders actually being ejected from a restaurant in Washington D.C.

Sanders took to Twitter to complain about the ejection:

This Saturday, CNN's Fredricka Whitfield brought on never-Trumper Ana Navarro to discuss the matter along with Trump apologist Jack Kingston, and as usual, Navarro didn't mince words when it comes to whether anyone should take pity on these Trump officials. Kingston of course did his best to play the "both sides" game and try to conflate these incidents with the nut who shot Rep. Steve Scalise at a Congressional ball game practice.

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now is Ana Navarro, a CNN political commentator and Jack Kingston, also a CNN political commentator and a former senior adviser to the Trump campaign. Thanks to both of you for being with me. So Ana, let me begin with you. You know, this tweet from Sarah Sanders saying she was kicked out of that restaurant because she worked for the president. This kind of in your face if you want to call it, you know, backlash now, do you see this as a direct correlation, you know, to what is transpiring right now on the border, is this bigger potentially than that?

NAVARRO: Look, I think this is something that's been building up for the 18 months that Donald Trump has been president. People have seen this president lie and lie and lie and lie time and again. They've seen him do outrageous offensive things.

Sarah Sanders, his spokesperson, has become the face of this administration. And I think, you know, some people are offended by the idea of baking a cake for a gay couple. They find that morally offensive. Some people find the idea of tearing children away from their families and then lying about it morally offensive, and don't want to be part of that.

It's a -- I think it's a difficult issue. I feel very badly that her children, her family, had to witness that. But I also think there is -- look, you make choices in life. You make choices in life, and there is a cost to being an accomplice to this cruel deceitful administration.

WHITFIELD: So Jack, how do you see it? Is this potentially just the beginning? I mean, Boris just helped recall, you know, for Homeland Security Secretary, you know, she got jeers when she was at a Mexican restaurant. Steven Miller apparently just did as well. And now Sarah Sanders to be asked to leave, reportedly by the owner of the restaurant. Is this an indicator of things to go, to come, that people are feeling, you know, emboldened to express themselves in this manner?

KINGSTON: Well, I think it's outrageous. I think it's rude. You know, I have been in public policy for 30 years and sat down with lots of people who I have extreme philosophical differences about, and yet you have to respect them. And to have no respect for the office of the Press Secretary of the United States of America just shows that this restaurant, you know, this person's a Chicken Little pipsqueak kind of person that really probably has no right to be part of the public debate in the likes of somebody like Sarah Sanders.

I'll give you and example Fred, yesterday, I had lunch with Rosa DeLauro, who's a very, very liberal member, very anti-Trump member, of the House, but she and I had a great respect for each other. We don't agree on a lot but we have a good friendship.

I think that what happens right now is there's a lot of misbehavior on both sides, a lot of rhetorical irresponsibility, and it leads to things like this. But far worse, frankly was, you know, a little bit over a year ago when the Bernie Sanders supporter decided to take matters in his own hands and does the hate crime, the assassination attempt on Steve Scalice at the baseball game.

So to me rhetoric, and both sides rhetoric, does have a cost. I think we in Washington, those of us, and I'm not so much in public policy anymore, but I think we have to lead by example and show people that, you know what, you can disagree, but the other person isn't a Nazi. It's okay to disagree.

NAVARRO: Fred, I also want to say, though, let's -- the three cases we've seen this week with Secretary Nielsen, with what's his name, and with -- I don't like to pronounce it, and with Sarah Sanders, all involve restaurants, all involve eating outlets.

And let's remember that there is a, you know, a disproportionate amount of Hispanics, of Latinos, of immigrants, that work in restaurants, particularly in the D.C. area, where there are so many Central American immigrants.

And look, this thing with the kids, this thing with the separation of the families, has cut deep into the hearts of the Latino community. These are kids that look like us, that sound like us, that could have been us, but for the grace of God, that could have been me.

So it's a very emotional time. You are asking people to serve. They have a conscientious objection. You know, it's hard to tell people put your convictions away, put your principles away and go serve them.

Look, it's unfortunate and I hate that it's happening. I can tell you I've gotten chased around the supermarket and berated by some Trump supporters. It kind of comes with the territory when you become a public person, you become the public face for something, and there is a cost to pay for the decisions you make in life.

She's exactly right. You lay down with dogs.....

Navarro also responded to Sanders and others on Twitter:

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