Ted Cruz Gets Forced Out of Restaurant

Sen. Ted Cruz was heckled at a Washington, DC, restaurant Monday and walked out with his wife as activists chanted, "We believe survivors!" Two videos of the incident at Fiola, an Italian restaurant, show people asking the senator about his upcoming vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, CNN reports. "I'd love to talk with you about Brett Kavanaugh tonight," says a woman who describes herself as a Cruz constituent and sexual-assault survivor. "Love to know what your vote is going to be tonight. I know that you're very close friends with Mr. Kavanaugh. And do you believe survivors, sir?" The Texas Republican reaches out to shake her hand, saying, "God bless you, ma'am," and she says, "Bless you as well. Really appreciate you."

The protesters keep challenging Cruz and his wife, Heidi, as they head for the door, shouting, "Are you going to confirm your best friend Brett Kavanaugh?" and "Vote no on Kavanaugh," NBC News reports. One activist gives Cruz the middle finger while another can be heard calling Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat challenging Cruz for his Senate seat, "way hotter" than him, per the Daily Beast. But O'Rourke tweeted Tuesday that it's "not right" for Cruz and his wife to be "surrounded and forced to leave a restaurant" by protesters: "The Cruz family should be treated with respect," he writes. Cruz isn't alone among Republicans: Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen have all encountered friction in restaurants. (More Republicans stories.)