Awkward Conversations With Politicians

They’re just like us!

After speaking with some of the people vying to become the leader of the free world and their surrogates you realize how accessible the figures you see on TV actually are. They’re regular people and, especially in New Hampshire, unscripted, genuine, and vulnerable to the unexpected. So without further ado, here are two awkward exchanges I had with politicos this past weekend:

Cory Booker

I caught the Junior Senator from New Jersey at the end of a Clinton rally in Manchester. He had just given a fiery speech telling the crowd that with Hillary Clinton as our president “we will rise.” He was going around doing his thing, taking selfies with supporters, updating his Snapchat story. I soon found him all by himself, because the crowd had converged on Secretary Clinton.

JQ: Senator Booker!

He comes over and shakes my hand. We take a selfie.

CB: Thanks for coming out to support the next President of the United States!

JQ: …actually, I’m a Republican.

Carly Fiorina

I was at JD’s Diner at the Manchester Radisson watching a live taping of Morning Joe. Carly Fiorina came on set, greeted the hosts, and sat in a chair five feet away from my booth with her back towards me.

JQ: “Mrs. Fiorina!”

She waits two seconds, as if she doesn’t hear me, and then turns around.

JQ: Can you sign my pocket constitution?

CF: Well, are you going to vote for me?

Fiorina isn’t joking around; she says this in a tone of voice more serious than the one she uses to bash Hillary Clinton — and the RNC. I pause.

JQ: Sure…

She signs it.