Tailgating, Mitch McConnell-Style

McConnell did a little tailgating over the weekend. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
McConnell did a little tailgating over the weekend. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By Bridget Bowman
Posted November 23, 2015 at 5:47pm

Ain’t no party like a Mitch McConnell party.  

The Louisville, Ky., NBC affiliate caught the Senate majority leader swapping his suit for a red fleece and jeans last weekend to tailgate with friends and family at the University of Louisville Cardinals’ football game. “He might be the leader of the United States Senate, but around here Mitch McConnell is just a Cards fan,” WAVE 3’s Tim Laird said in the three-and-a-half minute video.  

“There’s no blue here,” McConnell told Laird, who was decked out in a red fleece and red jacket, a color representing his Republican Party and his alma mater. McConnell graduated from the University of Louisville in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.  

McConnell is part of a core group that has been tailgating at the football games for around 20 years. Their spread on the video included chicken wings, spring rolls, grilled fruit, and, of course, some of the Bluegrass State’s bourbon.  

And McConnell’s recipe for a successful tailgate? “Come early, go to the game, and stay late.”  

The Kentucky Republican ducked a political questions about who he’d like to see as the GOP nominee for president.  

“I like Jim Ramsey as president,” McConnell quipped, referring to the head of the university.  

McConnell did say, though, that he referred to his Cardinal roots when he met with Pope Francis in September.  

“I reminded the pope that he was a cardinal too, just like me,” McConnell said. He concluded by saying, “Go Cards.”