{"id":2357739,"date":"2024-10-21T21:35:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T01:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-eats-democrats-lunch-at-mcdonalds-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-21T21:36:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T01:36:52","slug":"trump-eats-democrats-lunch-at-mcdonalds-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-eats-democrats-lunch-at-mcdonalds-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump eats Democrats\u2019 lunch at McDonald\u2019s &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-eats-democrats-lunch-at-mcdonalds-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2357739&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent photo\u200d opportunity, former President Donald Trump engaged \u200cwith customers and staff at\u200d McDonald&#8217;s, leveraging his known affection \u200bfor fast food to connect with average Americans.\u200b This event \u2063has sparked a mix of responses, with Trump&#8217;s supporters celebrating the moment as a relatable display, while critics viewed it as bizarre. GOP strategists praised Trump&#8217;s approach\u2063 as effectively contrasting \u200bwith his\u2062 opponents, \u2062particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, who has\u200b faced scrutiny \u2064over her own\u2064 claims of working\u200c at a McDonald&#8217;s in her youth. The photo of Trump working at the fry station went viral, showcasing a \u200dmore humanized image\u2062 of him <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">amid ongoing political rivalries<\/a>. \u2064As \u2062the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-desantis-super-pac-readies-25-million-fall-ad-buy-in-iowa-and-new-hampshire\/\" title=\"Pro-DeSantis super PAC plans M ad buy in Iowa &amp; New Hampshire.\">2024 presidential race intensifies<\/a>, both candidates are opting\u2063 for publicity strategies that highlight their\u2062 accessibility to voters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump eats Democrats&rsquo; lunch at McDonald&rsquo;s<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1841725\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a> is known for his love of fast food, but his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3196779\/mcdonalds-low-stakes-ally-trump-dangerous-foe-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>brief stint<\/a> as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mcdonalds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>McDonald&rsquo;s <\/a>French fry cook shows his appetite for headlines remains as insatiable as ever.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The well-executed weekend photo-op had his supporters saying &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetakeout.com\/history-of-mcdonald-s-i-m-lovin-it-jingle-1846400888\/#:~:text=How%20the%20slogan%20came%20to%20be&amp;text=The%20slogan%20came%20first.,put%20the%20slogan%20to%20music.\">I&rsquo;m lovin&rsquo; it<\/a>,&rdquo; while Trump critics responded as if the ice cream machine was once again out of order.<\/p>\n<p>But the reactions didn&rsquo;t break down purely along partisan lines or personal feelings about Trump. &ldquo;Some in the press called Trump&rsquo;s McDonald&rsquo;s photo-op bizarre. This is how you lose credibility,&rdquo; Cenk Uygur of the progressive Young Turks <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cenkuygur\/status\/1848359707011915929\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X. &ldquo;That was a home run photo-op. He looked like a real person there, connecting with the average American. If you can&rsquo;t see that, you&rsquo;re totally blind.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>GOP operatives were generally jubilant.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3145190\/how-to-vote-dates-deadlines-know-about-before-election-day\/\"><strong>VOTER REGISTRATION AND EARLY VOTING: KEY DATES AND DEADLINES IN THE 2024 ELECTION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Trump campaign is absolutely cookin right now. Really impressive events, message, etc.,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HolmesJosh\/status\/1848398366729712125\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>posted<\/a> Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist with ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There could not be a more striking contrast in these photos between who&rsquo;s focused on the elites and who&rsquo;s focused on the people,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/patrickruffini\/status\/1848493459235066255?s=46&amp;t=DZfHmZ9RYj2IBXl0_dptLw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote <\/a>Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini, posting a split screen of Trump at McDonald&rsquo;s and his opponent, Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kamala Harris<\/a>, campaigning with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/liz-cheney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Liz Cheney<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Trump attracted an adoring crowd to cheer him and be served their favorite menu items by the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. He engaged comfortably with the restaurant workers, many of them young. The pictures of Trump donning an apron and working the fry station went viral.<\/p>\n<p>These interactions, like Trump&rsquo;s friendly sitdowns with niche podcasters, have helped humanize him. That may be why after nearly a decade of hostile media coverage, Trump is by some measures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-memo\/3196447\/as-attacks-intensify-trump-becomes-more-popular\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>more popular than he has ever been<\/a> as a still-polarizing national political figure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The McDonald&rsquo;s gambit came as Harris and her allies have stepped up attacks on the 78-year-old former president&rsquo;s age, fitness for office, and willingness to appear in the media.<\/p>\n<p>All of these charges previously dogged President Joe Biden before Harris replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket this summer. Harris has also faced questions about her own openness to the press and what she knew about Biden&rsquo;s condition prior to the June 27 presidential debate that upended the race.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it is difficult to make charges of hiding from the media stick when voters see Trump on television all the time, as they did this weekend and for much of the past nine years.<\/p>\n<p>Harris herself skipped the Al Smith Dinner in New York City last week, instead sending in a video in which former <em>Saturday Night Live <\/em>cast member Molly Shannon did a lot of the talking for her. As the presidential race enters its final days, it is clear both candidates are favoring venues that will cast them in the most favorable light.<\/p>\n<p>As the Trump McDonald&rsquo;s maneuver entered its second day in the news, CBS announced it would not release the transcript of Harris&rsquo;s <em>60 Minutes <\/em>interview, which reportedly ran twice as long as what was broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>The genesis of Trump&rsquo;s turn under the Golden Arches was an attempt to troll Harris, who has said she worked at McDonald&rsquo;s in her youth. &ldquo;I did fries,&rdquo; she said on <em>The Drew Barrymore Show <\/em>in April. &ldquo;And then I did the cashier.&rdquo; That bit of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/carson-points-out-that-every-democratic-plan-has-backfired-in-trumps-favor-as-seen-in-the-bible-2\/\" title=\"Carson points out that every Democratic plan has backfired in Trump&#039;s favor, as seen in the Bible\">vice president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s job history came under scrutiny when the <em>Washington Free Beacon <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/i-did-fries-kamala-harris-claims-she-worked-at-mcdonalds-but-she-never-mentioned-it-until-she-ran-for-president-did-she-really-toil-beneath-the-golden-arches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported <\/a>her frying days were not listed on a 1987 job application or the accompanying r&eacute;sum&eacute; and did not become a staple of her biography until her 2019 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<p>A <em>New York Times <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/20\/us\/politics\/kamala-harris-mcdonalds-work-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>story<\/a> on the controversy began, &ldquo;Birtherism, meet burgerism.&rdquo; Despite the comparison to conspiracy theories about former President Barack Obama&rsquo;s birth certificate, the outlet acknowledged, &ldquo;The first time Ms. Harris appears to have prominently brought up her summer job was during her first presidential campaign in 2019, as she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rgj.com\/story\/news\/2019\/06\/14\/kamala-harris-visits-las-vegas-mcdonalds-protest-workers\/1461585001\/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGBVZpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaZOOLBIU4XQNZTR-riN5z1JRX_YrG7VpMPMPokrL5hOR_0Iv7cwVkye8g_aem_zKRuVoH3xVHikJZ5HII2gg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>joined striking McDonald&rsquo;s workers on a Las Vegas picket line<\/a> calling for a $15 minimum wage.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In subsequent years, Ms. Harris talked so little about her long-ago job at McDonald&rsquo;s that even some of her friends and close aides did not know she had worked there,&rdquo; the <em>New York Times<\/em> reported. &ldquo;She also did not mention the job in her memoir, although she talked extensively about her time at Howard and the various jobs mentioned on that old r&eacute;sum&eacute;.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Whether Harris&rsquo;s McDonald&rsquo;s days are a lost footnote to history or a case of Hamburgled valor, Trump&rsquo;s publicity stunt got under Democrats&rsquo; skin, which in turn led them to amplify it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s detractors pointed out that the visitors to the McDonald&rsquo;s hosting him were screened by the Secret Service, a security precaution necessitated by two attempts on the former president&rsquo;s life this year. They maintained that Trump had turned McDonald&rsquo;s into the home of his whoppers, that it was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ray_Kroc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>all a Kroc<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But the risk is that political opponents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcdonalds.com\/us\/en-us\/services\/playplaces-and-parties.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>raining on Trump&rsquo;s PlayPlace<\/a> will appear humorless and pedantic. Trump&rsquo;s new alliance with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the &ldquo;Make America Healthy Again&rdquo; movement aside, he continues to feed the electorate a steady diet of these stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1841725\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1841725\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump steals the spotlight at McDonald&#8217;s, delighting supporters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2357740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/trump-mcdonalds-1.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3685,11237,3634],"class_list":["post-2357739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-democrats","tag-mcdonalds","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/trump-mcdonalds-1.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2357739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2357739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2357739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2357739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}