By Lambert Strether of Corrente.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Here is what Trump said he would do<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cFor a long time, [Harris has] been talking about her experience at McDonald\u2019s. \u2018I worked at McDonald\u2019s, over the french fries, it was so hot,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m gonna go to a McDonald\u2019s next week some place, it might not be here in your place\u2014, I wanna see how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And that is exactly what Trump did, as we shall see. To set the political context, the McDonald\u2019s was located in Feasterville, PA<\/a>, in Bucks County<\/a>, one of the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia (\u201cPhilly\u201d). From the Philadelphia Inquirer, \u201cBucks County, the last purple part of Philly\u2019s suburbs, could swing the race for Trump or Harris \u2014 and they know it<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n Bucks County is known for vote splitting and politically moderate voters.<\/p>\n Trump lost the county in 2016 and 2020 but by narrower margins than the rest of the Philly region. Over the summer, Republicans gained the advantage in voter registration. But Democrats have had success in recent local elections\u2026. <\/p>\n The margins in Bucks County could play a key role in determining who wins Pennsylvania\u2019s electoral votes and the White House in November.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So, no pressure! In this post, I will first do a very<\/em> aggregation of mainstream coverage, and then move almost entirely to tweets, not because Twitter is closer to \u201cthe people,\u201d whoever they are, but because the hot takes there, however motivated, are generally fresher and sharper (I collected about 70 tweets, which was far too many, but I\u2019ve curated that count down significantly). After giving the mainstream coverage the attention it deserves, I will frame the event by presenting two McDonald\u2019s documents, and discussing the logistics of this campaign event. Then I will discuss whether the event was staged, fake or a stunt, and compare the reactions of Liberal Democrats and the McDonald\u2019s workers. Finally, I will look at Trump\u2019s ethos, and conclude.<\/p>\n Mainstream Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n From AP, \u201cTrump works the fry station and holds a drive-thru news conference at a Pennsylvania McDonald\u2019s<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n FEASTERVILLE-TREVOSE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump manned the fry station at a McDonald\u2019s in Pennsylvania on Sunday before staging an impromptu news conference, answering questions through the drive-thru window.<\/p>\n As reporters and aides watched, an employee showed Trump how to dunk baskets of fries in oil, salt the fries and put them into boxes using a scoop. Trump, a well-known fan of fast food and a notorious germophobe, expressed amazement that he didn\u2019t have to touch the fries with his hands.<\/p>\n \u201c,\u201d Trump said with a grin, putting away his suit jacket and wearing an apron over his shirt and tie.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n From CBS, \u201cTrump works drive-thru at Pennsylvania McDonald\u2019s before town hall in Lancaster<\/a>\u201c:<\/p>\n Trump stopped at the McDonald\u2019s in Feasterville, Bucks County, on Sunday, where he donned an apron and worked the drive-thru. The former president handed out food to pre-selected supporters in five cars.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n From the Daily Mail, \u201cTrump serves McDonald\u2019s customers and says \u2018I\u2019ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala\u2019<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Trump then proceeded to dip wire baskets of potatoes in sizzling oil before salting them and handing them out to customers through the restaurant\u2019s drive-through window. Thousands of people lined the street opposite the restaurant to watch.<\/p>\n Video captured from within the kitchen on Sunday showed Trump, 78, passing out orders to a group of grateful prearranged \u2018customers\u2019 \u2013 Trump supporters understood to have been pre-selected by his camp \u2013 who were were to see the ex-president serving their food and told him why they\u2019ll be supporting him in the election next month.<\/p>\n One man, apparently accompanied by his wife, told Trump, 78, \u2018you are the type of person we want to be the president\u2019, after thanking him for \u2018everything you\u2019re doing.\u2019 His passenger added: \u2018Thank you for taking the bullet for us.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Before looking further into the event, let\u2019s establish the corporate and franchise context.<\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s Documents<\/strong><\/p>\n Here is a document from McDonald\u2019s corporate:<\/p>\n This is an internal statement to the McDonald\u2019s system from the US Senior Leadership Team regarding today\u2019s visit by the Trump campaign to a local franchisee in Pennsylvania. The statement outlines the origins of the event, the company\u2019s response, and an invitation extended to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/1GntbmDbbY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 McFranchisee (@McFranchisee) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n Corporate is saying, in the nicest possible way (\u201cdon\u2019t have records for all positions dating back to the \u201980s\u201d) that they have no record of Kamala ever having worked there. (The press, in other words, has it exactly backwards: They say that Trump claims \u201cwithout evidence\u201d that Kamala didn\u2019t work at McDonald\u2019s. But Kamala made the claim, so it\u2019s up to her to provide the evidence. So far, we have to take her claim on faith.)<\/p>\n Here is a document from the franchisee, taped to the door of the restaurant:<\/p>\n YOUR REACTION: McDonald’s was closed to the public during Trump’s shift, leading some on the left to claim the entire event was staged. They argue that when Kamala Harris worked there, she was actually serving real customers, not campaign operatives posing as customers. pic.twitter.com\/tgKkihuwCn<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Simon Ateba (@simonateba) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n So, yes, the store was closed. To consider whether the event was staged, or fake, let\u2019s consider campaign logisitics.<\/p>\n Logistics of the Campaign Event<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re looking at a campaign event here. A crowd shot:<\/p>\n Trump really turned that Philadelphia McDonald’s into a 5-star restaurant in under 30 minutes. It’s now the most popular McDonald’s in the country \u2014 George (@BehizyTweets) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n And another:<\/p>\n Trump really turned that Philadelphia McDonald’s into a 5-star restaurant in under 30 minutes. It’s now the most popular McDonald’s in the country \u2014 George (@BehizyTweets) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n That\u2019s a lot of people! Any one of whom might be the next Crooks or Rouf. As Zaid Jilani puts it, politely:<\/p>\n As I put it, less politely, ranting: It was a campaign event<\/em>! Are we little children of six? Of course<\/em> it was staged. All campaign events are staged. The essential point is not \u2014 as neoliberals would have it \u2014 the fact of a transaction, but the reality that Trump did the work<\/em> (\u201cdip[ped] wire baskets of potatoes in sizzling oil before salting them and handing them out\u201d) End rant. <\/p>\n Staged, Fake, or a Stunt<\/strong><\/p>\n Hence, liberal Democrat-aligned headlines like Trump serves McDonald\u2019s fries to supporters in stage-managed campaign stop<\/a> (WaPo), The difference between work and Trump\u2019s staged McDonald\u2019s theatrics<\/a> (MSNBC), or These 25 BRUTAL reactions to Trump fake working at a CLOSED McDonald\u2019s have us HOWLING<\/a> (Pride) miss the point entirely: First, all campaign events are staged; and it\u2019s especially important to stage campaign events properly, so Trump doesn\u2019t get successfully assassinatedl, \u2018third time is the charm\u201d-style.<\/p>\n The Feasterville McDonald\u2019s campaign event is best characterized as a stunt, which mainstream conservativers recognize, amazingly enough. Piers Morgan:<\/p>\n This is one of the best political stunts of all time.. https:\/\/t.co\/5tTWUGUVUh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n J-Pod:<\/p>\n I am mostly allergic to Trump’s charm and humor but the McDonald’s fry video is one of the best campaign stunts I’ve ever seen<\/p>\n \u2014 John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) October 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n Political stunts<\/a> go back at least as far as Athens in the Fifth Century BC<\/a>, and even liberal goodthinker Charlie Pierce<\/a> understands that\u2019s what was going on:<\/p>\n Semi-seriously, I\u2019m not sure why everybody is making a big deal about this McDonald\u2019s stunt. It was fake? Color me not astonished. It\u2019s an example of what a veteran pol once told me about campaigning: Sooner or later, no matter how smart you are, or how brilliant your strategy is, you have to pet the pig. This was petting the pig, not dissimilar to flipping pancakes in New Hampshire or wolfing down corn dogs at the Iowa State Fair. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Checking my trusty OED, the essential characteristic of a stunt is that it involves an element of risk:<\/p>\n 1. An act notable or impressive on account of the skill, strength, daring, etc., required to perform it, an exciting or dangerous feat or trick, an exploit; a theatrical turn; a daring aerobatic manoeuvre; a prescribed item or event in an athletic competition or display. Also, something intended to gain an effect or win an advantage; spec.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bush\u2019s \u201cMission Accomplished<\/a>\u201d stunt \u2014 he actually landed a plane on the carrier Abraham Lincoln \u2014 is an example of a stunt gone terribly wrong\u2026 <\/p>\n .;.. since as it turned out, the Iraq mission wasn\u2019t accomplished at all.<\/p>\n By contrast, Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall show was a brilliant success, and solidified his popularity with young and \u201curban\u201d voters<\/a>:<\/p>\n I can imagine Susie Wiles stroking out when Trump proposed this to her: Her candidate heating up a deep fat fryer. What could go wrong, except everything? But that\u2019s what a stunt is all about: Some risk. The pig turns away from the kiss, the pancake sticks to the ceiling, the candidate chokes on a bone at the fish fry. The fryolator erupts in a burst of hot oil, sending the candidate a stay in the hospital in the final two weelks of a campaign. Risk is the nature of stunts!<\/p>\n Reactions<\/strong><\/p>\n First, I\u2019ll look at some reactions that can, I think, be classified as pecksniffery, and self-defeating at that:<\/p>\n To the 4.7 million fast food workers in the US. \u2014 Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) October 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n And:<\/p>\n This is how it\u2019s done. Thank you @NYMag<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/2DWLlv1pcL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andrew\u2014Author of America Rises On Substack (@AmoneyResists) October 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n And:<\/p>\n Shawn Fain, UAW prez responds to Trump McDonalds stop: \u2014 Julia Terruso (@JuliaTerruso) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n I like Sean Fain, but no, Kamala hasn\u2019t \u201cworn the uniform,\u201d at least on the evidence we have.<\/p>\n The reactions of the workers in the store are quite different:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know who at the Trump campaign thought it was a good idea to put Donald Trump working at a McDonald\u2019s drive-thru for a photo-op, but THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com\/PAA5KY4tW6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n And:<\/p>\n HAPPENING NOW: President Trump is killing it on his first day on the job at McDonalds. Perfectly salted hot crispy fries. pic.twitter.com\/DTH2cdGkEI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n In these, and in all the other images I have seen, the McDonald\u2019s workers are reacting like this is a fun, silly, goofy event \u2014 as indeed it is!<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Ethos<\/strong><\/p>\n I wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n Trump doesn\u2019t even have to be good. All he has to do is actually feel the heat of the grill and show respect for workers by entering their world (and not with performative empathy and bullet points on the Twitter).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Well, they didn\u2019t put Trump on the grill; just the fryer (hard to learn the grill in half an hour I suppose). But \u201cshow respect for workers by entering their world\u201d? I think Trump did that:<\/p>\n I love that he wears his suit and tie no matter the environment. \u2014 ATL+JAX (@Christo_MoNa) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n (Trump wearing his tie under his apron is very different from Walz\u2019s sad cosplay of a hunting outfit.)<\/p>\n The event is, of course, already generating countless memes:<\/p>\n 15 years ago we all thought the first memetic President would be a millennial<\/p>\n Instead most of millennial politicians suck and the first memetic president is a 78 year old man https:\/\/t.co\/T4wQ7A6fJR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n Although this one may be a little over the top:<\/p>\n This is the secular, American equivalent of the Pope washing the feet of the poor. https:\/\/t.co\/E8ZL8KRnBz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) October 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n (I say it is<\/em> a stunt, but since a stunt involves real risk, the gesture is meaningful in a way that merely staged or fake events are not. Imagine if Bill Clinton had butchered his saxphone solo!)<\/p>\n As a connoisseur of campaign technique, I applaud the event:<\/p>\n And I find myself in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with a Red State\/Daily Caller account:<\/p>\n Trump’s McDonald’s visit was a very clever move.<\/p>\n Here’s why:<\/p>\n \u2013 He’s in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state. Kamala\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8xsspFzGns<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jeff Charles, Doni’s St. Bernard\ud83c\udff4 (@jeffcharlesjr) October 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n But when you\u2019re right, you\u2019re right.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n At this point, I should remind readers that I have said, many times, that his election is a Sophie\u2019s Choice. I don\u2019t love either candidate, and I certainly don\u2019t love Trump. After all:<\/p>\n Yesterday Donald Trump did 15 minutes of work at McDonald\u2019s, where tens of thousands of employees earn starvation wages.<\/p>\n But when asked whether we need to raise the $7.25 minimum wage, he refused to comment.<\/p>\n I will comment. We need to raise the federal minimum wage to $17\/hr.<\/p>\n \u2014 Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/p>\n Not only that but the franchisee in Feasterville has been screwing his workers:<\/p>\n Donald Trump staged the McDonald\u2019s event at a McDonald\u2019s that was closed. The franchise owner of this McDonald\u2019s has been fighting against raising the minimum wage it has been the site of protests in the past for working conditions. pic.twitter.com\/lPJZsXdLit<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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This is what the Democratic Party thinks of you. pic.twitter.com\/80oePiPplU<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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\u201cDonald Trump, a 78 year old who’s never earned a real paycheck in his life, put on a show, playing dress up at McDonald’s to act like he\u2019s one of us. Kamala Harris doesn\u2019t have to put on a show, she\u2019s worn the uniform.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/Ij2AHhLaN9<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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Going to inspect tractors out in the field?
Cooking up fries in McD’s kitchen?
Same outfit as inauguration.
Need to get him out deer hunting.<\/p>\n\n
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\u2013 It’s absolutely hilarious \u2014 look at him in that apron!
\u2013 He comes off as someone who connects with “ordinary” people.
\u2013 You can tell he’s having a blast.<\/p>\n\n
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