Former President Donald Trump served French fries at a Philadelphia-area McDonald’s on Sunday, adding too much salt and pepper to Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was intended to troll Harris, who spoke about a campaign trip to a critical battleground state just two weeks after Election Day. works in one of the restaurants of the fast food chain when he was young. Without evidence, Trump accused Harris of lying about the experience to boost his credibility with the working class.
Trump repeated his baseless claims on Sunday.
“Working at McDonald’s was a big part of his resume — what a tough job,” Trump said at a restaurant in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. “He … cooked fries and said of the heat: ‘It was very hot.’ He has never worked at McDonalds.”
Harris spokesman Ian Sams fired back in a statement to NBC News.
“When Trump feels desperate, the only thing he knows how to do is lie,” Sams said. “He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he’s been handed millions on a silver platter only to blow it.”
Harris worked at a McDonald’s in Alameda, California during the summer of 1983, according to his campaign. He was a student at Howard University at the time and worked at the register as well as the fryer and ice cream machines.
Trump’s own love of fast food is well documented. During the government shutdown in 2019, he served famously McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Domino’s pizza on silver plates to welcome and celebrate the national college football champion Clemson Tigers during their visit to the White House.
During his half-hour shift Sunday, Trump swapped his suit jacket for an apron and took a quick lesson from a grill chef. Then he took turns in the fryer himself, dropped two batches of potatoes into the heated oil and waited for them to cook. He mostly followed the directions, although he forgot to drain the oil completely from one batch and seemed more generous with the salt.
Trump has repeatedly admired how French fries are packed with the help of a scoop-like device.
“Never touched by human hands,” he said at one point. “Nice and clean.”
Trump then turned his attention to the drive-thru window, filled out a few orders and chatted with his customers as they arrived in their cars.
“This is not a normal situation, is it?” He noted that he bragged about making the fries himself, before assuring customers they wouldn’t pay for their meals.
“There will be no charge,” he said. “Trump is paying for it. … This is all on Trump, am I allowed to do this?”
Several customers chanted Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan as they passed the line.
“I wouldn’t object to that,” Trump said. “I like this job. I would go back and do it again.”
The franchise was closed for normal business during Sunday’s visit, and it was not immediately clear how the drive-thru customers served by Trump were selected. In a statement, Derek Giacomantonio, the venue’s owner and operator, said he decided to attend the Trump campaign event because “it is a core value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to anyone who visits the Feasterville community.”
Trump also served fries and answered questions from the assembled reporters. He avoided directly answering whether the federal minimum wage should be raised.
“Oh, you’re so stingy with the produce,” he said to an employee filling bags with fries. “Look at this. He is a good worker. Those are the kind of people you want to have. “He gave them one roast for 30 reporters.”
Near the end of his appearance, Trump was told it was Harris’ 60th birthday.
“I think I’ll get her some flowers,” she said. “Maybe I’ll give him fries.”