Lindsey Graham takes grilling after being spotted at Disney World amid shutdown

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

March 29, 2026 6:04PM ET


Amid the ongoing partial government shutdown that has sparked chaos and long lines at airports nationwide, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was spotted at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida dining at Chef Mickey’s, and having a “grand ol’ time,” TMZ reported on Sunday, sparking immediate backlash from several notable critics.

“Divas still need vacation,” reads a social media post from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office in response to Graham’s Disney World getaway.

“Why is an old man with no kids going to Disney?” wrote conservative journalist Cassandra MacDonald in a social media post on X.

Graham confirmed his trip to Disney World to TMZ, telling the outlet that he was in Florida on official business. "I was invited to a meeting in South Florida on Friday with Trump official Steve Witkoff... to talk about the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” Graham told TMZ. “I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I'm already back in South Carolina."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/lindsey-graham-2676635810/

---

Divas still need vacation

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov) 2026-03-30T03:24:18.022Z

Link to tweet

Governor Newsom Press Office
@GovPressOffice
·
Follow
Divas still need vacation
TMZ
@TMZ
PHOTOS: Lindsey Graham vacationing at Disney World amid shutdown 📸https://tmz.com/2026/03/29/lindsey-graham-at-disney-world-amid-shutdown/
4:47 PM · Mar 29, 2026

[TommyT139]

1. Newsom is developing a pattern

...and it's not as funny as he thinks. Calling Graham a "diva" just adds to the tally.

Gavin Newsom Is Being Weirdly Homophobic Yet Again

The governor of California won’t stop invoking people’s alleged Grindr accounts as an insult.

https://www.them.us/story/gavin-newsom-is-being-weirdly-homophobic-yet-again

The whole story is worth reading by anyone who still thinks Gavin Newsom is solidly behind LGBTQ people.

(The article's observations being facts, I do not see this as a violation of the tarnishing Democrats rule.)

[Irish_Dem]

2. How is calling Graham a "diva" homophobic?

I don't think it sounds bad, the man is a jackass diva.

And in the military we win the war first and worry about polite conversation and niceties
later.

I have been a strong advocate for women and gay rights since I have been a kid.
I have earned the right to say my say.


Newsom is right. Win the gd war by any means possible, sort the rest out later.

If we do not do this, NONE OF US WILL HAVE ANY RIGHTS EVER AGAIN.

We need to stay focused and beat the hell out of MAGA.

[TommyT139]

5. Say what you want, of course.

If you don't understand how Newsom's use of "diva" plays on homophobic stereotypes, I can't help you. Apart from that, in this country, freedom of speech doesn't have to be "earned."

We absolutely need to win in November...and whatever comes after November. Naming the communication patterns of someone who might end up being part of that is a legitimate exercise.

[Polybius]

25. It's a term meant for a woman, not a man

Diva

A diva is a celebrated, highly talented woman in opera, music, or film, often associated with a glamorous, commanding presence. Originating from the Italian word for "goddess" in the 19th century, it initially honored exceptional opera singers (like Maria Callas). While sometimes implying a demanding or temperamental persona, it is also used in popular culture to denote a fierce, independent, and successful woman, as highlighted in Beyonce's song "Diva".

[iemanja]

32. It's misgendering. That's how.

[Miguelito Loveless]

9. I have never encountered "diva" as a gay slur

Diva (/ˈdiːvə/, Italian: [ˈdiːva]), the Latin word for a goddess, has often been used as an honorific to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of diva is closely related to that of prima donna. Diva can also refer to a person, especially one in show business, with a reputation for being temperamental or demanding. The application of the term has broadened beyond the performing arts to also include celebrated political and business leaders.

In American English I have always heard it used pejoratively as describing a person who is a pain in the ass to work with, a self-important person who believes they are the to be treated as almost royalty.

[QueerDuck]

12. There you go! "Goddess" ... it's mis-gendering him and using it to denigrate him.

It's no different than adding "lady" to his first initial... no different than dressing up Fetterman in women's clothing.

But, apparently such things are allowed if the slur and insult is being used against someone we dislike.

Ugh.

[Miguelito Loveless]

14. You went straight to the original meaning from the Italian

I quoted the more common usage in American English. The Italian use is not pejorative, the US use is, but refers to men and women. You are taking the Italian use, and assuming deliberate misgendering. As I recall, when people wanted to do that, they referred to him as "Miss Lindsey", THAT is misgendering.

This reminds me of the folks who got upset about the word "niggardly" and drove a city councilman out of office despite the fact that the word had NO relationship or derivation from the "N word". Lindsey Graham is certainly a "diva|", as is Trump. They are both self-important asses who feel they should be treated as royalty.

[QueerDuck]

16. When such great care is taken to split hairs to justify misgendering ...

... or the use of slurs, it only highlights the fundamental problem with the position itself. The etymology or 'subtlety' of a term doesn't change the intent or the result --- it remains a distinction without a difference.

We have seen this exact type of hair-splitting used historically to defend other offensive terms, like 'uppity,' as a way to avoid more obvious slurs while keeping the same harmful implication.

I value an inclusive environment where basic respect for identity isn't a matter of debate. This line of reasoning doesn't align with that, so I’m done with this exchange.

Have a nice day.

[rubbersole]

18. IIRC - Mohammed Ali used the term "niggardly" on the Dick Cavett Show just to bring up a point.

Ali loved to stir the pot.

[Doodley]

28. Do you want everyone to be nice to Lindsay Graham. He has been the greatest advocate of this war. Let's not offend him

as we teeter at the brink of a world war.

[QueerDuck]

31. One can oppose a war hawk without using bigoted language...

Using someone’s identity as a punchline doesn't make anyone a better "warrior for peace." Instead, when anyone does that, it just sends the message to every trans or gender-nonconforming person in this community that support for them is conditional. Using misgendering or identity-based slurs as a weapon only serves to reinforce the idea that a person’s identity is only valid as long as we like them.

This isn't about being 'nice' to one politician... it’s about the collateral damage. When we use bigoted tropes to attack our enemies, we’re still validating the bigotry itself... and that hurts the vulnerable people on our own side far more than it hurts LG.

We don’t oppose misgendering simply because the target deserves respect --- we oppose it because we have standards. If our commitment to trans rights or gender identity is conditional (if it's based on whether or not we actually like the person) then it’s not a deeply held principle. That's when it becomes a performative hobby.

I think it's important for me to re-state the obvious: It's possible to loathe his politics and loathe his ethics, or to just hate him personally... but WITHOUT resorting to the same kind of identity-based attacks we fight against every day. After all, we manage to loathe Clarence Thomas without using racially-charged words like "uppity" and "boy"... so it shouldn't be too difficult to also oppose a war hawk without misgendering him, or insulting him with "lady" or "miss" or "diva."

I’m genuinely disappointed that basic consistency on human rights is even a point of contention here. I’ve said my piece, and I’m not interested in a back-and-forth over whether bigotry is useful, or whether the target "deserves" it.

I’m not going to argue the "merits" or the "exceptions allowed" when it comes to using identity-based slurs. Either we have principles or we don't. I'll leave it at that and won't be responding further.

Bye. Have a nice day.

[Doodley]

35. If we look at some dictionary definitions of the word diva, we will see it is in use as a gender neutral

noun when describing certain behavior. Are you saying only women can behave in that way? If so, I think that is very misogynist.


CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY

diva
noun [ C ]
us /ˈdiː.və/ uk /ˈdiː.və/
Add to word list
a very successful and famous female singer or actor:
an Italian opera diva
a pop diva

usually disapproving
a person who is difficult to please and behaves as if they are very special or important:
She has a reputation for being a diva.
He was being such a diva about everything.
I am a steak diva. I refuse to eat a bad steak.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/diva#google_vignette


VOCABULARY DOT COM
Technically, a diva is a big-time female opera star. Beverly Sills and Maria Callas were two of the world's most renowned divas. More commonly, though, we call anyone who thinks they're more fabulous than everyone else a diva.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/diva

[iemanja]

33. It's not about Lindsay Graham

It’s those who use the slurs, as these things always are. When people think bigotry is justifiable because they don’t like the person, they say nothing about the target of the attacks and everything about themselves.

[Doodley]

37. Explain how using words in the way described in dictionaries is bigotry?

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY
a person who is difficult to please and behaves as if they are very special or important:
She has a reputation for being a diva.
He was being such a diva about everything.
I am a steak diva. I refuse to eat a bad steak.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/diva#google_vignette


VOCABULARY DOT COM
Technically, a diva is a big-time female opera star. Beverly Sills and Maria Callas were two of the world's most renowned divas. More commonly, though, we call anyone who thinks they're more fabulous than everyone else a diva.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/diva

[iemanja]

39. It's misgendering

Which is homophobic. That point has already been made in this thread. It’s not that hard to figure out. In fact, people who use such slurs know exactly what they are doing.

[Doodley]

40. No, it's not misgendering, based on the dictionary examples in the post you are replying too. It can be a gender-neutral

noun to describe a particular negative behavior. This is clearly a common usage. If you claim only women behave in that way, I would say that is very misogynistic. Let's respect all people, no matter what their gender. We don't need to label people and say only a woman can be this. Frankly, it could be perceived as offensive.

[Bengus81]

11. Maybe he should have just posted a sternly worded message?!?!

He's doing what they've done to us for decades. I applauded it.

[johnnyplankton]

17. Sorry. I'm not buying the microaggession argument

Perceiving everything as a slur is hypersensitivity without considering intent. The classical definition of 'Diva' is not how it's used today. It means difficult to work with and a perception of being "better than". Perceived microaggressions are one of the reasons why we lose elections.

[SalamanderSleeps]

26. isn't there a rule around about sit flinging?

[Doodley]

27. Newsom is attacking a war mongering, Trump stooge. You seem to be attacking Newsom.

[wcmagumba]

3. Good for Governor Newsom, Graham is a bit of a Diva as far as I can tell.

Nothing wrong with that. As someone having had many "Diva" friends throughout my life the signs are pretty obvious, I loved all of them...

[twodogsbarking]

4. Collecting his payoff.

[Ray Bruns]

6. "Why is an old man with no kids going to Disney?"

Why indeed?

[poozwah]

7. searching

looking for a ride?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. There are many people who go to Disney World without kids

My adult children and I go to Walt Disney on a regular basis. My first trip was in 1984 with my ex-wife and our oldest was born nine months later. We started going before we had kids and took the kids to Disney many times. I used to have a time share at Disney but sold it after my divorce. I have pictures of my middle child trying to run off with Chip and Dale when she was three or so. My oldest child got on the hot seat at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at 15. My middle child made into the contestant pool for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire when that show was being filmed at WDW. It was a random selection, and I did not make the cut. She did not get onto the show. I admit that I used to go to WDW by myself when I had the time share and enjoyed among other things playing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (I got onto the Hot Seat 16 times).

I had a former associate at my firm who has visited every Disney resort in every country. My oldest just went to Tokyo Disney two years ago. My older two went to the California Disney parks a year ago. I have not been to the original California park since I was 11 (back when there were "E-ticket" rides) and I am thinking of going back there. We were at Disney World in Orlando the last two Octobers and will be headed to Disney World in December for my 70th birthday.

My oldest has a time share that is right next to the Contemporary Resort where they caught Graham. You do NOT need kids to enjoy Disney World. My oldest is a foodie and there are some really great restaurants at Disney. The restaurant where they caught Graham, Chef Mickey, is a nice buffet that I do not remember ever eating at (there are so many good places to eat at WDW). I personally like a fried chicken place run by Art Smith (who has been a judge on Top Chef). There are several really top tier restaurants at Walt Disney that are very nice.

I am amused that Graham went to Disney World, but I am not surprised. You do not need kids to go Disney World.

[SpankMe]

15. There's some context others see here that you may be missing

Adults who go to Disney without children usually go because they, themselves, had young children in the past and went to Disney as a family together. Or, they - as children - went to Disney a lot with their parents. Adults who go to Disney without children usually have a past involving Disney visits with, or as, kids.

For a single man, who never had children - and who has no history of having visited Disney as a child - to suddenly be seen there solo (i.e., not even nieces or nephews) has a certain "creeper" feel to it.

I agree that adults should be free to visit Disney without kids without stigma (unlike Chucky Cheese where they used to decline service to single men wanting to dine in). But there are certain circumstances where a single adult visiting The Kingdom solo feels odd. This is one of those times.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

22. There are many persons without children who enjoy Disney.

I went to Disney World for the first time before we had kids. My only prior Disney experience was when I was 9 after my father had died and the family visited some relatives in California. This was way back in the E-Ticket era which is my only real memory of this trip. After we had kids, we were regular visitors. When the kids were in school or law school, I made numerous trips by myself including when I was addicted to the Millionaire attraction (Disney had a rule that you could only get on the Hot Seat every 30 days because some lady who got on the TV show would get on the hot seat four or five times in one day). With the time share, it was fun making trips with or sometimes without the kids.

Before I joined DU (a long time ago), I was active on a board for Disney nuts where there are boards/forums for LGTBQ, single, solo, adult and senior visitors. https://www.disboards.com/ There are unofficial gay day events at Disney with a ton of visitors without children. There are a ton of older and single persons who visit Disney. At the time share, I have seen a ton of groups/travelers without kids attending over the years. I went to an ABA convention at Disney a very long time ago. My kids teased me that I attended the seminars to get my continuing legal education hours in while they were in the parks. I did get to listen to a lecture with some of the top merger and acquisition attorneys in the country at this seminar.

Disney has developed a nice wedding business. My middle child and her husband got married there 10 years ago. Disney did a great job for this wedding. Our last trip coincided with my middle child's and her husband's tenth wedding anniversary, and I had fun making them wear their buttons showing that it was their anniversary (they got some free desserts). I also saw that DeSantis also got married there.

Again, Walt Disney has some truly great dining locations. My oldest child is a foodie and there are ton of great restaurants to go to. The hotel where Graham was filmed has really nice place to eat in addition to Chef Mickey. Chef Andres' has a nice restaurant at Disney Springs that I want to try out. As I mentioned, the Art Smith restaurant has the best fried chicken that I have ever had. There is a steakhouse near Epcot that has amazing steaks.

I see nothing strange or wrong with Graham going to Disney World other than the fact that there is a partial government shutdown. It is wrong for members of Congress to go on vacation while TSA and other government workers are not being paid. The articles that I have read about Graham being at Disney focused on the fact that Graham was on a nice vacation during this partial shutdown.

Again, I strongly disagree with your characterization about single or unmarried visitors to Disney. Single visitors or visitors without children go to Walt Disney all of the time. I do object to members of Congress going on vacations while there is a government shutdown.

[SpankMe]

24. With respect, it's not my own characterization

As evidenced by many comments in this thread, a number of people find single male adults "of a certain age" visiting Disney alone - without ever having had children that they took to Disneyland - to be somewhat odd. However, note the last paragraph in my post where I say "I agree that adults should be free to visit Disney without kids without stigma...". Apparently you didn't read that far.

My wife and I are Disney fans and had annual passes before the price went astronomical. We'd go the Disney Anaheim just to have dinner at Pirates of the Caribbean, watch a parade and some fireworks, and then leave. This was before kids. But, we were in our early to mid-20's and visited Disney many, many times as kids. We double dated there with other Disney fans and would occasionally point out Disneyland visitors who seemed out of place. Most of the time, this was lone males in their 40's or thereabouts wearing Disney attire that seemed inappropriate for adults, such as ill-fitting short Micky Mouse shorts, non-black mouse ears with their name glittered on it and other themed bling - like hand-held props that didn't match other elements of the costuming - that just struck us as strange at worst and tone-deaf at best. There was a creepy feel to it.

I don't deny that childless adults visit the Magic Kingdom, and I'm fine with that. But don't slam people who find that to be odd in certain particular cases.

All that said, I reacted to this story before I know all of the facts. Graham was visiting a high end restaurant in a resort location outside of the Magic Kingdom park itself. He was with other adults and was wearing a suit. TMZ's characterization of his visit and the pile--on by detractors is unfair. Frankly, I'm not eve sure I have a beef with him visiting there during the TSA shutdown. I'm sure congressional members of both parties still went out to nice dinners with their families or business associates during the budget impasse. We libs might be overplaying our hand on this one - as much as I HATE Lindsey Graham.

[Doodley]

29. The difference is Graham is a creep. Would you trust him with your kids?

[iemanja]

34. Who cares?

It’s his business. He likes Disney. So what?

It says something twisted when people care about this more than Graham’s role in the Iran War.

[Doodley]

36. He eggs on Trump to go to war. American servicemen are killed. Schoolgirls are killed or maimed. We are on the brink of

WW3, and then he goes to Disney. Do you see anything wrong in that?

[iemanja]

38. Which has nothing to do with his going to Disney.

[rpannier]

8. Graham's excuse sounds about as believeable as the one given by Cancun Cruz a few years back

[twodogsbarking]

10. I would like to see him grilled, like a hamberder, well done.

[2na fisherman]

19. Disney Ad Campaign Parody

'Lindsey Graham, you've just applauded Trump's illegal Iran war and that sending troops to invade Kharg Island would be like an Iwo Jima moment in Trump's war. Now what are you going to do?' (show montage of flag draped coffins, Arlington cemetery)
'I'm going to Disney World!'

[chernabogg]

20. He's eating at a restaurant called Chef Mickey's

It is located in the Contemporary Resort right by Magic Kingdom. I used to work here as a character performer and I think I would’ve lost my job this day if I had to interact with him.

[City Lights]

21. He is a disgrace to mankind. Just like his hero. nt

[Buddyzbuddy]

23. WTF!

I didn't even decorate our house for Halloween one year because my wife and daughter were out of town that year. It's not a good look, some old guy alone at home luring children with decor and candy.

Could this be his kompromat? Nah, too obvious.

[dflprincess]

30. When you're telling your constituents to send their sons & daughters to fight in Iran

vacationing at Disney World is not a good look.