Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled a page from the Clint Eastwood playbook on Monday, apparently in response to a joke from President Barack Obama about not wanting to drink with the Kentucky lawmaker.
During the traditional White House Correspondents Dinner — where the president typically roasts political and media figures in Washington — Obama joked about his recent outreach to congressional Republicans.
“Some folks still don’t think I spend enough time with Congress,” Obama said Saturday night. “‘Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?’ they ask. ‘Really? Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell.’”
On Monday, McConnell responded on Twitter with a photo of himself drinking a beer at a bar in Hazard, K.Y. He’s sitting next to an empty chair, where a glass of red wine is positioned on the bar.
@barackobama @eastwood_ Greetings from coal country! Hazard, KY -MM twitter.com/Team_Mitch/sta…
— Team Mitch (@Team_Mitch) April 29, 2013
The tweet is a reference to Clint Eastwood, who famously gave a prime-time speech during the 2012 Republican convention with an empty chair representing Obama.