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As most readers will know by now, the Trump campaign staged a bit of political theater this weekend, wherein the former president donned an apron and "worked" at a Feasterville, PA, McDonald's for 15 minutes or so.
The secret is already out that the whole thing was carefully choreographed. That is to say, the McDonald's location was not actually open for business, and everyone there was carefully screened, and was friends or family of the staff members. Some folks are making a big deal about this but, truth be told, we tend to think it's much ado about nothing. The Secret Service isn't going to let random people approach a presidential candidate, especially one who's already been targeted at least twice by would-be assassins. So, the not-so-genuine nature of the whole thing was baked in (fried in?).
What is of more interest to us is whether this appearance actually advanced Trump's goals, which were to: (1) affirm himself as a "man of the people" and (2) draw attention to his claims that Kamala Harris is lying about having worked at McDonald's in her youth. As to the first of those, we just don't know. When Joe Biden (and Harris) walked the union picket lines, we could absolutely see how that would engender some appreciation among union workers, since a sitting president (and VP) had never done that before, and media attention is very helpful for strikers. Working the french fryer at McDonald's is kind of a similar move, and we certainly don't think it's "bizarre," the way some on the left are describing it. However, we have a harder time believing that the nation's many McDonald's workers see themselves in a rich guy who didn't even take off his tie and worked a whole quarter of an hour. That said, we're not the target demo, so maybe we are off base here.
As to the second goal, we think that "controversy" exists entirely in the head of Trump and some of his loyalists. Most people don't even know about Harris' work history, and even fewer know of Trump's conspiratorial thinking about that work history. And even folks who are in the know, we seriously doubt they made the connection that Trump was hoping to make. Even if they did, what, exactly, was his message? "I'm a real McDonald's worker because I put in 15 minutes at the fryer and the takeout counter"? Seems thin to us.
What we do know is that a stunt like this is not a net positive if the damage it does is greater than whatever benefits it brings. While many right-wingers have lauded Trump for his audacity/brilliance/slumming, he's also been the butt of a lot of jokes, which he hates. Here's a small selection, for example, of the many, many memes that sprung up this weekend, as if by magic:
Drudge has a grudge:
Sticky fingers:
But where's the cookie crook?:
Send in the clowns:
Be like Mike?:
We're cutting it off at five because the vast majority make the same three jokes: he's a thief, he's a clown, and he's fat. Since we don't do fat-shaming jokes, that leaves us with relatively little ground to cover here. Anyhow, thanks to reader J.L. in Los Angeles, CA, for help in putting these together.
Another way in which the visit could plausibly come back to bite Trump in the rear was the rather thoughtless scene that played out the next day. It would seem that Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) owns at least one McDonald's. And so, at a joint appearance with Trump and some other Republicans, Edwards presented the former president with a "french fry certification pin." Who knew that even existed? The presentation would have just been a little cheesy (Mayor McCheesy?), and that would be that, except that it took place... during a tour of hurricane-ravaged sites in the Tar Heel State. So, not the best timing.
We'll see what the next stunt in Trump's "man of the people" tour is. Maybe he'll (pretend to) use a toilet that is NOT plated in gold. (Z)