Senator Amy Klobuchar once ate a salad with her comb and then asked a staff member whom she berated for not getting her a fork to clean it afterward, it has been reported.
The incident took place at an airport in 2008 while Klobuchar was headed to South Carolina, four people with knowledge of the episode told The New York Times.
The aide was carrying the salad for his boss while also hauling their bags through an airport terminal when he accidentally dropped the plastic eating utensils.
After they reached the gate, Klobuchar reprimanded the staff member for not having a plastic fork ready for her to use.
She then stunned her team by using a comb to eat the salad. She then gave the comb to her aide and told her to clean it.
This is the latest in a series of revelations made in recent weeks about Klobuchar’s purported tendency to humiliate and mistreat her staff.
The claims are especially surprising given that Klobuchar has throughout her political career cultivated an image of ‘Minnesota nice’ that has endeared her to voters.
‘The senator has repeatedly acknowledged that she can be tough and push people hard,’ Carlie Waibel, a campaign spokesperson for Klobuchar, told the Times.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (second from left) greets local residents at a banquet in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday
‘But these anonymous stories - some of which are just plain ridiculous - do not overshadow the countless experiences of people on the senator’s team who she has been so proud to work with.’
At a recent town hall hosted by CNN, Klobuchar said that her tough demeanor is because of her ‘high expectations’ for her team.
‘Am I a tough boss sometimes? Yes,’ she said. ‘Have I pushed people too hard? Yes.’
The senator from Minnesota has been subject to a number of unflattering stories in the news media which quote former aides.
These ex-staff members say that they were on the receiving end of Klobuchar’s chiding, which came in response to relatively minor slip-ups.
Klobuchar’s treatment of her staff has attracted more attention in recent weeks as it became apparent that she would announce her candidacy for the presidency.
The Democratic senator made a formal announcement to that effect in Minneapolis on February 10.
Klobuchar’s tendency to humiliate and degrade her staff created a work
