Donald Trump's 'shift' at closed McDonald's ridiculed as he fails to operate fryer and put on apron

Donald Trump ‘worked’ a ‘shift’ at McDonalds on Sunday (20 October) and the fact that we’ve had to put those two words in inverted commas should tell you exactly how it went.

The Republican candidate and former president’s appearance at the Feasterville, Pennsylvania branch of the fast food chain came as he took aim at his Democrat rival Kamala Harris and her past experience working for the company - something upon which Trump has cast doubt.

“She never worked here,” Trump told reporters at a drive-thru window, branding Harris “lying Kamala” when he was asked why the VP would lie about her employment.

The Democratic campaign has since clapped back at Trump, with vice presidential candidate Tim Walz writing on Twitter/X: “This guy spent decades stiffing workers pay, cut overtime benefits for millions of people, and opposed any effort to raise the minimum wage.

“You know who has actually worked at McDonald's, joined workers on picket lines, and fights for working people? @KamalaHarris.”

And social media users have since pointed out many blunders and troubling moments surrounding Trump’s PR stunt and attempted trolling of Harris – we’ve rounded them all up for you below.

The restaurant was closed, with customers screened by the Secret Service

Several news reports note the motorists served by Trump in the drive-thru were screened by security personnel, with reporter Tom Sofield sharing images of cars “rehearsing” their interactions with the former president ahead of Trump’s arrival on Twitter/X.

As well as this, a flyer is circulating on social media – of which Indy100 has been unable to verify or identify the original source – purporting to be from restaurant owner Derek Giacomantonio, which says his venue will be closed on Sunday “to accommodate a visit at the request of former president Trump and his campaign”.

The McDonald’s restaurant was cited for health violations in March - Trump didn’t wear a hairnet and claimed his hands were “nice and clean”

MediasTouchreports that a food inspection of the restaurant from March criticised food employees for “not washing their hands as required before putting on gloves” and “not wearing hair restraints as required”.

Trump was filmed handling the fryer in the McDonald’s without a hair restraint and told reporters that his hands are “nice and clean”.

Yikes.

Trump said he would accept the result of the election if it’s a “fair” one

When asked by a reporter at the drive-thru window if he will accept the result of November’s election “either way”, Trump replied he would do so “if it’s a fair election”...

Trump failed to use the fryer correctly

No words needed for this one.

He also needed help putting his apron on

In another clip, after being handed the familiar grey and yellow apron, a female employee had to tie up the uniform at the back for the former president rather than the politician doing it himself.

Ironically, if Trump wanted a job at McDonald’s, he might not be hired - because he’s a convicted felon

According to Felony Record Hub, McDonald’s does, on the whole, hire felons but because it is a franchise, franchisees “can hire who they like based on their hiring policy”.

As a reminder, back in May, Trump made history as the first criminally convicted former US president when he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Needless to say many people online certainly aren’t ‘lovin’ it’…

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.