Wearing a blue and yellow apron over his trademark red tie, Former President Donald Trump handed out fries and political jibes at a McDonald’s in Lower Bucks County on Sunday.
The event was held at the McDonald’s on Street Road in Lower Southampton Township and drew thousands of Trump’s supporters before he jetted off to a campaign rally in Lancaster County.
The afternoon campaign stop featured a brief stint by the former president behind the counter where he served fries to a select group of fans and members of the media. Among the attendees was Newtown Athletic Club owner and Trump fundraiser Jim Worthington, who Trump said helped organize the visit.
“Look at the crowd over there. Look at how happy everyone is,” Trump said.
Trump used the occasion to state that he does not believe Harris’ statements of having worked at a California McDonald’s during her college years.
“I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump said. “She never worked here.”
Harris has talked about her work at McDonald’s, which, she has said, helped pay for college. However, some Republicans have doubted her claim, noting she hadn’t previously mentioned her job there in the 1980s.
The former president avoided directly answering media questions about whether he supports raising the minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 in Pennsylvania for the last 15 years. He instead lauded the McDonald’s staff for their efficiency and hygiene, noting that the food “never touches a human hand” before reaching customers.
One reporter asked if the former president was on the location’s payroll as he worked the kitchen.
“Not enough,” Trump joked. “I want more money.”
Derek Giacomantonio, the franchisee of the McDonald’s, said he “accepted former President Trump’s request to observe the transformative working experience.” He added that one in eight Americans have worked at McDonald’s and he was a former crew member himself, but he now owns eight locations in the region.
When a reporter asked, Trump, 78, wished Harris a happy 60th birthday.
The former president declared that he was winning and he would accept the result of the election if he deemed it to be fair. In 2020, Trump disputed the results of the election and attempted to overturn the result of the election before leaving Washington D.C. hours ahead of President Joe Biden being sworn in.
The visit required the restaurant to close temporarily, with food service limited to several cars that had been preselected and screened by the U.S. Secret Service and campaign staff.
One of the drivers who received food from Trump thanked him for the food and said they appreciated that he was running for president.
Trump’s campaign described his work at the drive-thru window as reflective of his image as a “leader, a true man of the people.”
The former president’s visit drew criticism from the Harris campaign, which labeled him the “most anti-worker president in recent history.”
“Today, Donald Trump showed exactly what we would see in a second Trump term: exploiting working people for his own personal gain. Trump doesn’t understand what it’s like to work for a living, no matter how many staged photo ops he does, and his entire second term plan is to give himself, his wealthy buddies, and giant corporations another massive tax cut,” said Joseph Costello, a spokesperson for Harris. Vice President Harris on the other hand has a record of standing up for workers and taking on bad actors who rip people off, and she’ll do the same as president.”
People Power PA, a liberal political group, called the event an attempt to “distract from the devastating impact his tariffs and labor laws will have on Pennsylvania workers.”
“Donald Trump’s plans serve up more wealth and greed for fast food CEOs while leaving PA workers with nothing but crumbs,” said J.J. Abbott, a longtime Pennsylvania strategist and leader of People Power Pennsylvania. “Trump’s Project 2025 would gut protections for overtime, block minimum wage increases, roll back child labor protections, and attack collective bargaining.”
As Trump handed food to supporters in cars and the media, chants of “we want Trump” and “USA” could be heard from the crowd that was several hundred yards away.
Throughout the event, the political chants were interspersed with cheers for Philadelphia Eagles.
Trump’s visit came with heavy security, with police agencies from around the county assisting federal law enforcement and Lower Southampton Township police. There was a state police helicopter overhead, local tactical teams, K-9 bomb dogs, and sniper and spotter teams on nearby roofs.
Trump’s visit came days after Harris visited Washington Crossing Historic Park to lay out her message on why Trump was unfit to serve as president again.
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