Interactions with Politicans ?

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

What are weirdest interactions with a politican, once my sibling got lost and was discovered by a former prime minister.

[Lambsbread]

John Fetterman follows me on Twitter. Idk if that counts as weird. I pretty much just asked him to and he did.

[KaiserDave]

John Fetterman follows me on Twitter. Idk if that counts as weird. I pretty much just asked him to and he did.

Checks out

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Probably when I was with my family at an open-air mall in my province a couple years ago and we randomly met Lorenzo Viviani, a Lega Deputy from Liguria, and my father and him conversated for half an hour of non-political matters.

[Del Tachi]

Hearing Chuck Schumer 'dis hard on Sherrod Brown for the diabetic-type shoes he always wears.

Spilling a glass of water on John Kerry

Hanging up on Roger Wicker

and probably a few more I can't think of right now

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Every day when I look in the mirror this handsome devil scowls at me. I know he's destined for greatness.

[Torie]

Senator Pete Wilson, Robert Kennedy, Senator Howard Baker,  Rep. Chris Cox, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Rep. Bob Dornan,  Alphonzo Bell,  Rep. Antonio Delgado, Rep. Roman Pucinski,  Senator Ralph Smith (Illinois), Rep. Barry Goldwater, Jr., Rep. James Corman and Max Rafferty, are the federal office holders or would have been that come to mind. I also met attorney general William French Smith. Oh, and governor Andre Cuomo.  The closest I got to meeting a President, was Ronald Reagan called my grandmother to wish her a happy 95th birthday. Reagan was a friend of my aunt. They were both right wingers in Hollywood.

[President Johnson]

Had several with politicans from my party, the Social Democrats. I most liked Sigmar Gabriel, former vice chancellor and foreign minister. I met him a couple of times on different occasions.

Won't mention her name, but an attrative Democratic congresswoman follows me on Instagram. Maybe because I like all her posts.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

I went to a bar the day before the 2015 VA midterms for a GOTV event. Got there for the end of Terry McAuliffe's speech to the other volunteers. He looked tired as a dog. As he made his way to the exits, covered with sweat, he shook my hand, too exhausted to maintain eye contact with me. I patted him on the back and told the governor to "have a good one."

[vitoNova]

If you ever saw Chris Matthews in person (I did around Union Station), his head is huge and round.  Like a basketball.

[T'Chenka]

I went to high school with my riding's Member Of Parliament (congresswoman).

[morgankingsley]

Ron Wyden did a presentation at my school during senior year (February 2017) talking about the future election and making your voice heard and how we were set to be the next generation of adults who would define the future and how we should take that responsibility seriously and carefully.

Regards,
MorganKingsley

[The Dowager Mod]

I literally ran into Hillary Clinton once, I was late for a class so I was flying down some stairs and her and her entourage were coming up.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I had dinner in the spring of 2016 in a group of about 10 people with Rick Santorum.  We were talking about the Republican primaries, and someone asked him what should happen if no one got enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot.  Without blinking an eye, he said "the guy who came in second last time should get it".

This isn't my own story, but someone I know from church grew up in Utah and was driving in a blizzard on Christmas Eve a couple months after the 2012 election (or maybe it was 2013, I can't remember).  Her car ran into a snowbank on the side of the road.  A minute later, she saw a nearby homeowner walk out to help her.  That homeowner was Mitt Romney.

[It’s so Joever]

Not me but my mother once sat near Joe Biden on a plane and snapped at him. I will tell you the details later when I speak to her later.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

I was at the Vermont State Capitol with my wife and walked away to go to the bathroom. I came back to the House chamber where I had left her and she was talking to some woman I’d never met. The woman turned out to me a Republican Assemblywoman who gave us a tour of the place, including some off-limits areas like the attic, where there was a huge crate that has the signature of every intern that has ever worked there, which was really cool. Then she introduced us to then-Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, who simply referred to himself as “Phil” and seemed like a cool guy.

Another one involving my wife: when we first moved to Springfield, she didn’t have a job yet and was bored, so she decided to check out the Illinois State Capitol. She didn’t realize that was the day of the State of the State address, and I guess she didn’t realize the place was not open and managed to get in the building right behind Bruce Rauner. She saw the doors to the House chamber open and everyone get up and clap and then realized she probably shouldn’t be there.

[brucejoel99]

Met Peter Welch in the Capitol rotunda when I was touring in 2007 & met John McCain there as well when I toured once again in 2014. Welch practically raced past us as he was in a hurry for a meeting but he did stop for a quick sec to meet us when my aunt & uncle brought up how they're from Vermont & loved him, & McCain was busy giving a personal tour of the place to a foreign delegation but I asked him if we could take a picture really quickly & he kindly obliged.

Met Debbie Wasserman Schultz (for the 1st time), Bill Nelson (for the 1st time), & Hillary Clinton at her victory party after the 2008 Florida primary. DWS was extremely rude & unpleasant (as she has been on every occasion I've met her, mainly at school & local community events, like our local Relay for Life), but Nelson & Hillary were both kind & sweet when I interacted with them. My family & I were also at the end of the rope line so we actually got to chat with Hillary for a couple minutes, which was really cool.

My best story is probably about the time I met Bill Clinton. On what happened to be my birthday (technically the day after, but shhhh), he was holding a local autograph signing as part of his 2011 book tour for Back to Work & the rules of the event dictated that it was just a quick meet-&-greet wherein you'd walk up to him, exchange quick pleasantries as he signed your copy of the book (though you weren't allowed to request personalized autographs), & then you're on your way. I abided by this format & left as instructed but my dad was in line behind me so when he got up to Clinton, he told him how it was my birthday & I sh*t you not, Clinton has the Secret Service guy who's with him radio the agent at the exit to stop me & send me back. Of course, the agent didn't inform me why I had to go back, so I was scared sh*tless for a second thinking they thought I was suspicious for some reason & that I was about to get arrested or something because I mean, c'mon, it's the Secret Service: they don't f**k around. Fortunately, as I got back to where Clinton & my dad were, he motioned for me to come back over to him & he wished me a happy birthday & took back the book so he could personalize it with a happy birthday message, so that was a really amazing experience.

Met Charlie Crist & a couple local state senators/reps back in 2014 when he opened up his local gubernatorial campaign office in my area & got a picture with him, nice guy.

Met Frederica Wilson & Annette Taddeo at FIU during the 1st joint event that Hillary held with Kaine after picking him to be her running-mate, they're lovely people as well.

Sat in front of Alan Grayson at a town-hall which he held during his Senate primary campaign back in 2016 but refused to meet individually or take pictures with anybody. 10/10 asshole, so no wonder he lost the primary.

Another funny story would be about my meeting Roger Stone in 2017. My family & I went out to eat at a Fort Lauderdale restaurant with some extended family visiting in from out-of-town & as we're eating, a group among which Stone was a part of walked in. Sh*t you not, the guy was wearing a Nixon '08 t-shirt. I told him I knew who he was & if I could get a picture with him, he said sure & asked me if I knew him from the recent Netflix documentary. I responded no, I just knew him from his political involvement in general. Overall, a weird & fidgety guy in-person.

I was a Gwen Graham supporter but as I was living in Tallahassee at the time of the 2018 gubernatorial primary, I figured I'd go to Gillum's party; figured I'd get to witness a graceful concession speech. Then he won, so that party became a blast to be at. Met Gillum as he stepped back from the podium after he gave his victory speech, told him I was looking forward to electing him Governor in 10 weeks' time. Couple days later, I managed to land an internship at his campaign HQ through chance & connections, & met him again when he came in to the office the 1 time he was able to do so between the primary & the general. Recognized me from the victory night party, asked how I was doing, about college life in Tally, my family, etc. Great guy in-person & though I was never a primary supporter of his & I dread what the possibility of a post-motel comeback might mean for the FDP's chances at the Governor's Mansion in '22, I'm glad to see he's doing much better.

Following on from the internship, it was through it that I was able to meet Biden & Bill Nelson (again) when they swung through Tally for a quick campaign stop. I'm biased but anything you may hear about Biden pales in comparison to actually getting to meet him in person. I discussed my family's history concerning cancer with him & told him how Beau & the Biden family in general were an inspiration for me, & he couldn't have been more gracious & empathetic. Then I told him to run & be the President who ends cancer, in response to which he chuckled & said the only campaign I'm here for right now is the great Sen. Nelson. I'm glad he went on to take my advice

Also, former State Senate President John Thrasher was FSU President during my time there, so I met him & his wife (the First Lady of FSU!) at a function once. Amazingly kind individuals, the both of them.

EDIT: forgot I also met Roger Wicker at a Reagan Airport gate a couple years back. Nice guy, in-person.

[Crumpets]

My mom once dropped a book on someone's foot in a bookstore, apologized, and then realized it was Ralph Nader.

[Roll Roons]

Work on Capitol Hill (not going to say for who), so I've had a lot of interesting interactions and encounters.

Most interesting was one time when I was running to get into an elevator, and someone who was already inside was nice enough to hold the door open. I get there, and that someone was none other than Steve King. I'm Indian, but maybe he thought I was a very tan Italian or something.

[brucejoel99]

Work on Capitol Hill (not going to say for who), so I've had a lot of interesting interactions and encounters.

Most interesting was one time when I was running to get into an elevator, and someone who was already inside was nice enough to hold the door open. I get there, and that someone was none other than Steve King. I'm Indian, but maybe he thought I was a very tan Italian or something.

Alternatively, it would still be completely in-character for him to think you're just "one of the good ones."

[Calthrina950]

I've had two encounters with a federal politician, and one encounter with local politicians. I've described elsewhere how I checked out my own Representative, Lamborn, at my job a few months ago. Another encounter I had-although it was from a distance-was with John Hickenlooper. I was at PPCC (the community college I went to before transferring to UCCS) one day, sitting at my table and idling away on my laptop between classes. While I was sitting there, a man came out of a hallway, talking to his companion, and they headed down the stairs. That man was Hickenlooper, who was still Governor at the time. I looked his way, shocked that it was him, and then returned to my work once he had passed. We didn't have any kind of direct interaction, though he did glance my way. I assume Hickenlooper was at PPCC that day attending some conference or roundtable discussion.

The encounter that I had with local politicians was while I was interning at Sen. Bennet's office in Colorado Springs. One day, I went to an event with the District Director of that office. That event was a community seminar concerning legislation to provide small business loans to the economically distressed neighborhoods of Aurora and South Colorado Springs. The bill was sponsored by former State Sen. Mike Merrifield, his successor, then State Rep. Pete Lee, and State Sen. Bob Gardner. Merrifield and Lee are Democrats, each representing in turn the state senate district encompassing Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City, while Gardner is a Republican; his district is located in Eastern Colorado Springs.

As the Director and I were coming into the building, we ran into Gardner. She introduced him to me, but he barely acknowledged me and didn't thank me or say anything else when I held the door for him and the Director. Thus, I have a negative opinion of him, one that I will never shake off. At the event, he, Merrifield, and Lee spoke about the loan bill, which the three of them had sponsored. The bill had passed the state legislature the month or two before, and had been signed into law by Hickenlooper. Also in attendance at the event was El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr., also a Republican; he came through my row...and wasn't the politest person, to put it mildly. Lee later stopped by the Senator's office, but didn't say anything to us interns-he didn't even notice we were there-and left when his business was done.

So as you can see, my encounters with politicians haven't gone over too well. It's saddening for me, and it's why I'm not going to be the one to attend political rallies or anything like it in the future.

[Astatine]

I did an internship during school time in my home state's regional parliament and had the honor to see some relatively high profile politicians - without talking to them - such as Oskar Lafontaine (former SPD leader) and then-Governor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK).
I met AKK two years later during the general election campaign on the street, chatted nicely with her for about five minutes and took a selfie.
She would later become CDU leader and Secretary of Defence, and was favorite to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor at some point.

When I was 14, I was at a Christmas dinner of a family relative who brought some friends, including then-MEP Jo Leinen.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Ive cornered jeb hensarling in a hallway and told him he’s smaller than I thought lol

[kwabbit]

I met Jon Corzine when he was jogging in 2008. Not much of an interaction with him but still.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I met and got a selfie with Senator Richard Blumenthal at a student-sponsored event for a political debate club.

Met Governor Jodi Rell in her office during a field trip and attended a (non-political) speech she gave at my high school. I asked her what it's like being a Republican governor with a Democratic legislature. She said bluntly, "They're a pain in my you-know-what."

Obama gave a eulogy at my high school after the Sandy Hook shooting. It was mostly closed to the public except for victims' families. It was surreal seeing the president speak at my school on such a solemn occasion, but I'm grateful that he did.

I also briefly saw Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper as my parents and I were driving by to pay our respects at the candlelight vigil.

Former NC Governor James Martin spoke at my college. He was a chemistry professor before he went into politics, and he gave a talk about the perceived disconnect between science and religion. I asked him a question, but I don't remember what it was.

Roger Stone joined AAD and made a few posts there, but that was long before I registered.