'I’m not trying to act like I’m driving a garbage truck in Des Moines': Republican power couple who left correspondents dinner early to protest 'elites' bought $3 MILLION house this year to add to 30-acre weekend farm

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A Washington, D.C. Republican power couple who walked out of the White House Correspondents Dinner in protest of smug anti-GOP 'elites' went home at the end of the night to an 8-bedroom $3.1 million home they bought in January.

But first they took a privately hired car to NBC's after-party.

Matt Schlapp is chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. His wife Mercedes is a senior Donald Trump aide who has the inside track on soon becoming the White House communications director.

They also own a 30-acre farm in Virginia's picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains that they use as a weekend retreat, according to a New York Times profile. 

American Conservation Union Chairman Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes, a senior White House communications aide, left Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner early in protest of comedian Michelle Wolf's attacks on Sarah Sanders and her jokes about abortion

The Schlapps left the dinner before headline Wolf ended her set at 10:41 p.m., and 17 minutes later were tweeting their disgust about 'elites' from a limousine on the way to an exclusive NBC after-party

Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes were photographed last year in their old house with their kids (from left) Ava, 6; Viana, 13' Elissa, 9' Lucia, 5 and Caterina, 12

The Schlapps' new house in Alexandria, Virginia is a 9,400-square-foot mansion nearly four times the size of the average Virginia home

'My wife @mercedesschlapp and I walked out early from the wh [White House] correspondents dinner. Enough of elites mocking all of us,' Mr. Schlapp tweeted near the end of Saturday night's annual event honoring the White House press corps.

This year's dinner was marred by an often vulgar performance by Michelle Wolf, a comedian booked for the event.

Wolf took personal shots at White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, who was seated just feet away from the podium.

'It’s why America hates the out of touch leftist media elite,' Mercedes Schlapp tweeted 17 minutes after Wolf ended her routine.

The Times estimated that she wrote that line 'from a limousine' on her way to the NBC event.

'It was a really nice Chevy and I still think it cost too much,' Mr. Schlapp later sniped at a critic.

A photo from the home's real estate listing shows a sprawling, light-filled kitchen with a granite island and an oversize gas cooktop

The master bedroom is one of eight, and the house includes 7 bathrooms to go along with them

Closet space aplenty in this mansion – enough for hung Versace dresses and folded Brooks Brothers shirts

One CNN reporter questioned whether the Schlapps may have been protesting loudly about an event they watched until near the very end

CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski leapt to lob accusations of hypocrisy in the Schlapps' direction.

'I watched Matt leave, the bit was pretty much over and they said goodbye to people as they left,' he tweeted, adding: 'I don’t understand how you can schmooze with The Elites for six straight hours and then say leaving 10 minutes early is a bold stand against them.'

Schlapp said he was there to support his wife in her role as a West Wing staffer. 'But last night went too far. Cruel.'

He also said a Wolf joke about abortion turned his stomach.

'Don't knock it 'til you've tried it,' the comic had said on stage. 'And when you do try it, really knock it. You know, you gotta get that baby out of there!'

Mr. Schlapp acknowledged going to an exclusive NBC party after the event he publicly trashed, saying he and his wife needed a drink and wanted to take full advantage of having a babysitter for the evening

The Schlapps could easily have gone home early for that drink, courtesy of a wall-sizewine rack in their new house

He poked fun at the idea of riding in a limousine, saying it was a Chevrolet

Ultimately the Schlapps couldn't stomach Michelle Wolf's jokes about abortion

Kaczynski piled on: 'I hope you had a great time at all the pre and after parties Matt and I’m sure leaving 10 minutes early meant you beat surge pricing to get to the NBC party.'

Schlapp brushed off sniping about his participation in an NBC party held after the dinner he claimed to have left early in protest.

'It's true,' he tweeted. 'After that horrible "comic" we def[initely] needed a drink. Besides we had a babysitter. W 5 kids that's a big deal.'

In addition to chairing the American Conservative Union, Schlapp owns a lucrative public affairs firm whose lobbying receipts topped $1 million last year.

That number is up 66 per cent from 2015, before Donald Trump was elected and his wife's nameplate appeared on a West Wing doorway.

After a long day at the White House, Mercedes Schlapp can soak in a tub in this sumptuous marble master bathroom

Hardwood everywhere: The multimillion chez Schlapp

Parts of the home's decor look like a slightly muted version of the president's Trump Tower residence, wich gold trim and white fabric 

The Schlapps' $3.1 million home in Alexandria, Virginia contains a sprawling 9,816 square feet of space, including eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a four-car garage.

There's also a guest cottage on the three-quarter-acre property, just steps away from neighborhood tennis courts.

The median home price in Virginia this year is less than $248,000, according to Zillow. U.S. Census Department data show the average house in America has about 2,400 square feet of space. 

Mr. Schlapp defended his family's status as political elites, telling the Times: 'I mean, I’m not trying to act like I’m driving a garbage truck in Des Moines.'

He did not respond to a request for comment left at his office.