NOT USING PPE
Katie Mather
·Reporter
Wed, October 23, 2024
Donald Trump fulfilling an order during a recent visit to the McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. (Doug Mills/New York Times via AP/Pool)
Donald Trump manned the fry station at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania during a weekend campaign stop, intended at least partly in response to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has claimed that she worked at the fast food chain in 1983.
Trump has repeatedly accused Harris of lying about working there in an attempt to pose as someone with working-class roots. McDonald’s said in a statement that it did not keep employment records for all positions dating back from the early 80s. Trump has not provided any evidence to validate his claims that Harris did not work there.
After Trump’s McDonald’s appearance, where he scooped fries for a reported five minutes followed by 15 minutes of answering reporter’s questions at the drive-through window, Trump quipped, “I’ve worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala.” (The Washington Post reported that the McDonald’s was closed to the public during his visit and the “customers” were Trump supporters prescreened by the U.S. Secret Service. No one ordered food and received whatever Trump gave them. McDonald’s also issued a statement clarifying it is not endorsing a political candidate.)
According to McDonald’s, one in eight Americans have worked at the chain at some point in their life.
One Reddit user, who is a current employee at McDonald’s, told Yahoo News they saw the stunt as nothing more than what “a presidential candidate does during the election cycle.”
“[They] stop in random restaurants and pretend to understand everyday struggles,” they said. “No different [from] any other candidate before or likely long after.”
Another McDonald’s employee, who has worked at the chain for 17 years, told Yahoo News they saw the appearance as purely “a jab at Kamala.”
“It was because he thought it was an easy thing he could do,” they added.
“I feel it's just a continuance of him focusing on things that are only lies, he has no evidence [Harris] didn't work there,” said another Reddit user, who has worked in the service industry for over 20 years. In a separate comment, they added, “[Trump has] never had a real blue-collar job so he needed to show it.”
While speaking to the press at McDonald’s, Trump also avoided answering any questions about his stance on the minimum wage, even though employees at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains make an average of $13.20 an hour, according to the 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2009, Pennsylvania has adopted the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
One of the more vocal critics of Trump’s McDonald’s stunt is Roy Wood Jr., a comedian and co-host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You. In an X post that was shared almost 2,000 times, Wood wrote, “Tired of politicians showing up and doing the most basic part of a job. Anybody can work a fry scoop. Can you drain a deep fryer without spilling that 400 degree lava on your skin or all over the floor during lunch rush?”
Wood, who worked in the food service industry throughout his teenage years, including at a hospital cafeteria, told Yahoo News he thought Trump’s McDonald’s shift was “stupid and a waste of voters’ time.” He said it was comparable to Trump’s town halls “where he takes no questions and just dances instead.”
“I think that anybody that’s worked any type of service industry or blue-collar job, to me, I would rate that just under military service,” Wood said. “Not everyone can relate to military service, but we understand the nobility of it. But most of us have had a job where you’ve had to serve strangers or use a little elbow grease outdoors.”
Trump is not the first presidential candidate to pose for photos while “working” an everyday job. In 1992, George H. W. Bush tested out cash registers at the National Grocers Association trade show. That same year, Bill Clinton and Al Gore wore hard hats and safety goggles at a factory in Iowa. In 2008, John McCain stirred a pot of gumbo at a restaurant in Florida.
In Wood’s opinion, this trend — politicians cosplaying as regular Americans — won’t end anytime soon.
“You’ve got to try everything,” Wood said about candidates reaching voters. “Everybody is living in their own bubbles and you must now enter those bubbles individually in the campaign. It’s the equivalent of digital door-knocking — you’re just not going to reach everybody on 60 Minutes anymore.”
Katie Mather
·Reporter
Wed, October 23, 2024
Donald Trump fulfilling an order during a recent visit to the McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. (Doug Mills/New York Times via AP/Pool)
Donald Trump manned the fry station at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania during a weekend campaign stop, intended at least partly in response to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has claimed that she worked at the fast food chain in 1983.
Trump has repeatedly accused Harris of lying about working there in an attempt to pose as someone with working-class roots. McDonald’s said in a statement that it did not keep employment records for all positions dating back from the early 80s. Trump has not provided any evidence to validate his claims that Harris did not work there.
After Trump’s McDonald’s appearance, where he scooped fries for a reported five minutes followed by 15 minutes of answering reporter’s questions at the drive-through window, Trump quipped, “I’ve worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala.” (The Washington Post reported that the McDonald’s was closed to the public during his visit and the “customers” were Trump supporters prescreened by the U.S. Secret Service. No one ordered food and received whatever Trump gave them. McDonald’s also issued a statement clarifying it is not endorsing a political candidate.)
According to McDonald’s, one in eight Americans have worked at the chain at some point in their life.
One Reddit user, who is a current employee at McDonald’s, told Yahoo News they saw the stunt as nothing more than what “a presidential candidate does during the election cycle.”
“[They] stop in random restaurants and pretend to understand everyday struggles,” they said. “No different [from] any other candidate before or likely long after.”
Another McDonald’s employee, who has worked at the chain for 17 years, told Yahoo News they saw the appearance as purely “a jab at Kamala.”
“It was because he thought it was an easy thing he could do,” they added.
“I feel it's just a continuance of him focusing on things that are only lies, he has no evidence [Harris] didn't work there,” said another Reddit user, who has worked in the service industry for over 20 years. In a separate comment, they added, “[Trump has] never had a real blue-collar job so he needed to show it.”
While speaking to the press at McDonald’s, Trump also avoided answering any questions about his stance on the minimum wage, even though employees at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains make an average of $13.20 an hour, according to the 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2009, Pennsylvania has adopted the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
One of the more vocal critics of Trump’s McDonald’s stunt is Roy Wood Jr., a comedian and co-host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You. In an X post that was shared almost 2,000 times, Wood wrote, “Tired of politicians showing up and doing the most basic part of a job. Anybody can work a fry scoop. Can you drain a deep fryer without spilling that 400 degree lava on your skin or all over the floor during lunch rush?”
Wood, who worked in the food service industry throughout his teenage years, including at a hospital cafeteria, told Yahoo News he thought Trump’s McDonald’s shift was “stupid and a waste of voters’ time.” He said it was comparable to Trump’s town halls “where he takes no questions and just dances instead.”
“I think that anybody that’s worked any type of service industry or blue-collar job, to me, I would rate that just under military service,” Wood said. “Not everyone can relate to military service, but we understand the nobility of it. But most of us have had a job where you’ve had to serve strangers or use a little elbow grease outdoors.”
Trump is not the first presidential candidate to pose for photos while “working” an everyday job. In 1992, George H. W. Bush tested out cash registers at the National Grocers Association trade show. That same year, Bill Clinton and Al Gore wore hard hats and safety goggles at a factory in Iowa. In 2008, John McCain stirred a pot of gumbo at a restaurant in Florida.
In Wood’s opinion, this trend — politicians cosplaying as regular Americans — won’t end anytime soon.
“You’ve got to try everything,” Wood said about candidates reaching voters. “Everybody is living in their own bubbles and you must now enter those bubbles individually in the campaign. It’s the equivalent of digital door-knocking — you’re just not going to reach everybody on 60 Minutes anymore.”
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