What to Know
When President Donald Trump found out that his former press secretary, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was asked to leave a restaurant because her presence made people uncomfortable, he acted totally shocked. Not because it happened, but because it happened in Arkansas?
On March 19, Huckabee Sanders took to social media to address the incident. She said she “was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave.”
She, too, seemed surprised that it happened in Arkansas.
Last week I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave.
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) March 19, 2026
Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and… https://t.co/oYtZQNkX8o
It’s notably not the first time a restaurant has asked Huckabee Sanders to leave. Something similar happened to her in Virginia in 2018, when she was still working for Trump. Though she no longer works for him, she continues to stand by him. In the rest of her statement about the more recent incident, she wrote, “Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and while that restaurant didn’t meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansans up, not tearing others down.”
The restaurant also explained what happened.
Former Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump can do and say whatever he wants in his second term, and his team will do whatever he asks them to do.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) March 22, 2026
“Things that we could have never gotten away with saying or responding with, are like the regular from the second… pic.twitter.com/QbJMdv4wYO
Huckabee Sanders had been dining at the Croissanterie in Little Rock. In a statement shared with THV11, the restaurant explained that when they first noticed Huckabee Sanders dining at the restaurant, they were hoping she would just finish her meal and leave without causing any issues.
In the statement, they said, “However, as the presence of her security detail became more widely noticed, by both employees and guests, questions were raised about them remaining in the restaurant.” They decided to ask Huckabee Sanders to leave because they wanted to prioritize their employees and customers.
“As business owners and members of this community, we recognized that any course of action carried consequences,” the statement continued. “Allowing her to stay risked being perceived as a lack of support for the community that makes up the majority of our team, as well as their families and friends. Conversely, asking her to leave could be viewed as denying service based on differing beliefs.”
The restaurant added, “Ultimately, we made the decision to support our employees and guests who expressed they were uncomfortable. To clarify, we do not recall any statements indicating that anyone felt threatened.”
Somehow, Trump managed to make it about himself.
Doocy: Sarah Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant.
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 20, 2026
Trump: That shouldn’t have happened. Here or in Arkansas?
Doocy: In Arkansas.
Trump: WOW! pic.twitter.com/QiEAKcyuYX
Trump’s reaction to the whole situation was pretty true to character. When a reporter asked Trump about what happened to Huckabee Sanders, he started by saying that “she’s a good person” whose “politics are right down the center.” He concluded, “That shouldn’t have happened.” However, at the time, he clearly didn’t know where it had happened.
“Where did that take place? Here or in Arkansas?” Trump asked the reporter. The answer to this question was what really surprised him. “Wow! In Arkansas, that’s very surprising!” he reacted. “I love Arkansas. I won that state by so much. I think that Sarah is going to be just fine. But it’s too bad. She’s a good woman, Sarah.” Um, OK.
Somehow, Trump always seems surprised to find out that people don’t like him or others in his circle. This situation is reminiscent of his reaction to finding out that Vice President JD Vance was booed at the 2026 Winter Olympics. When a reporter told Trump about the booing directed at Vance, Trump acted flabbergasted even though it had happened before. Trump responded, “Is that true, is that right? It’s surprising, ’cause people like him. Well, I mean he is in a foreign country, in all fairness. But, uh, he doesn’t get booed in this country.”
But in reality, Vance does get booed and heckled in this country, and Huckabee Sanders did get booted from a restaurant in Arkansas. Imagine that.
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