FEASTERVILLE, Pennsylvania – Former President Donald Trump showed up for his quick shift at a McDonald’s on Sunda, handing out bags of fries and McNuggets to customers and doubling down on accusations he’s made without evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris lied about working at the fast food chain.
“I’ve now worked (at McDonald’s) for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump said from the drive-thru window, wearing a grill apron over his signature red necktie and white dress shirt, but offered no evidence of what he calls the vice president’s false claim.
With just over two weeks to Election Day, and Pennsylvania still hotly contested as possibly the swing state needed to capture the White House, Trump came to the pivotal Bucks County for a drive-thru photo op and to woo undecided voters in hopes of securing the state’s critical 19 electoral votes.
Trump, the Republican, and Harris, the Democrat, are locked in a tight race in Pennsylvania. Both are barnstorming the state in the waning days of the campaign ahead of Nov. 5, and while Pennsylvania voters are already returning mail-in ballots.
Trump’s visit was prompted by Harris, who burnishes her middle-class roots by sharing that she worked for McDonald’s in the 1980s to pay her college tuition. Trump said he doesn’t believe her, and agreed to “work the fries” at a store.
The event, among the most unique campaign stops in local Pennsylvania presidential politics, brought out huge crowds, tight security and the national media. A police officer on site estimated there were about 7,000 in the crowd.
Trump handed McNuggets, burgers and fries to customers who had been vetted and cleared by the campaign, according to a source close to Trump.
“What a beautiful family,” he said to the first car, a four-door black Jeep Wrangler, driven by a man who identified himself as “Jim from Bucks County.”
Trump could be seen live on Fox News wearing an apron and learning how to make fries from an employee. He talked about going to the Steelers’ NFL game in Pittsburgh on Sunday night and asked about how to “shake” the grease off the fries.
When asked about what he loves about McDonald’s, Trump said, “I love it all,” as he donned the apron.
After the last car had passed the drive-thru window, Trump had an impromptu press conference with about 30 reporters standing outside.
Asked why Harris would lie about working at McDonald’s, Trump replied, “Because she’s lyin’ Kamala, that’s why.” The former president added: “But let’s not talk about that. It’s an amazing business, it’s an amazing country, and we’re gonna make America greater than ever before.”
The exchanges between Trump and the press were mostly lighthearted, and Trump seemed in good spirits.
Asked if he would put his brief gig on his resume he said yes, “Worked at McDonald’s.”
“How much you getting paid?” a reporter shouted. “Not enough. I want more. I want more money,” he joked.
He caught sight of the crowd outside, and was impressed.
“Look at the crowd over there, look how happy everybody is,” Trump said, pointing to supporters lining three and four deep. “They’re happy because they want hope. They need hope.”
“You want something?” he asked a reporter. “I’ll tell you what. What if we gave you some French fries? It’s sort of a bribe, but I think fries for a buck is OK.”
Trump turned from the window and into the kitchen. Inside, a press pool camera caught the former chief executive taking two bags each with large orders of french fries for the press. “We’ll throw them out the window at them,” said Trump, who has a rocky relationship with the media.
He handed the bags to a local Fox reporter, and several reporters grabbed fries and ate them.
Supporters of Trump and Harris come out to McDonald’s campaign stop
The unconventional campaign stop brought out thousands of supporters of the former president and a smaller group of Harris supporters, who carried signs and stood nearby the McDonald’s.
As with other Trump events, it was a party atmosphere. The weather was sunny and warm, and signs and flags were everywhere, including “Cats for Trump.”
It was also loud, as thousands chanted in unison “USA! USA!” amid breaks for selections from Trump’s Greatest Hits playlist, including “I’m Proud to be an American” Ozzie Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and the Village People’s “YMCA.” Supporters danced and jumped. Passing cars and pickup trucks rigged with freight train horns blasted the crowd, and the crowd responded with whoops and cheers.
John and Kate Devlin of Huntington Valley said they came to the campaign stop just to get a glimpse of Trump. “It’s really a chance for our kids to see history,” Kate Devlin said.
John Devlin said he moved his barber shop from Northeast Philadelphia to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, because of crime. “There was a shooting in front of my shop. This country needs better policing on crime,” he said.
Families were everywhere Sunday, along with small business owners. But the crowd was mostly filled with working people who said they want the economy fixed. “I believe Donald Trump holds the future for us,” said Luba Kaun, of Holland. She was with her son, Donald Julian, 3.
“He has the same name — Donald J,” she said.
At the McDonalds, customers chosen to be served by Trump waited in line at the drive thru well before the former president arrived Sunday afternoon.
Security was tight, with sniper teams on top of the McDonald’s and atop Guy’s Bicycles next door. Secret Service agents and K-9 dogs patrolled, and local police wore military green SWAT gear.
Why was Donald Trump at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania today?
In interviews since at least 2019, Harris has said she worked at a McDonald’s while in college in the 1980s.
“I did fries and then I did the cashier,” she told an interviewer earlier this year. Asked what she’d order at McDonald’s at a drive-through, she said, “Probably the Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries,” she said.
Trump has for months claimed without evidence that Harris did not work at the fast food establishment.
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McDonald’s has stayed out of it.
Jim Worthington, a Trump supporter and owner of the Newtown Athletic Club, said he arranged the McDonald’s visit through franchise owner and friend Derek Giacomantonio, who declined to speak, and a spokesman said all communication had to be approved by corporate offices in Chicago.
However, a McDonald’s executive on site declined to answer when a reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, asked him if Harris had ever worked for the company. In a statement distributed to the press on Sunday, McDonald’s said, “As a brand, McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue — we are golden.”
Trump and Harris are in a battle for Pennsylvania in the presidential race, which could turn on white working-class voters, people who tend to be familiar with minimum or lower-paying wage jobs such as McDonald’s.
A pivotal part of Pennsylvania
Trump’s Sunday’s appearance in Bucks County was the second in the Philadelphia area since last Monday.
In Oaks, in Montgomery County, Trump stopped taking questions at a town hall event after a pair of medical emergencies in the crowd, instead dancing and playing music for 39 minutes as supporters trickled out.
Harris held an event in Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks on Thursday urging “country over party,” appearing with more than 100 Republicans.
Bucks County is the narrowest of the swing counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and, apart from Luzerne County, has the smallest divide between Republicans and Democrats as a percent of total voters. Pennsylvania is critical to the 2024 election with its 19 electoral votes.
Out of 486,740 voters in Bucks County, Republicans make up about 41.6% of voters while Democrats make up about 41% of voters. Democrats lost their voter advantage over the GOP for the first time in at least a decade in July. Luzerne County has Republicans leading by just 0.46%.
While Trump hasn’t managed to win Bucks County in either of the last two presidential elections – Clinton took the county 48.7% to 47.6% and Biden won with a four-point lead at 51% of the vote – he does have a strong following of supporters.
JD Mullane can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Trump visits PA McDonald’s, alleges Harris lied about college work
