A campaign stop by Donald Trump and a quick detour to work as the fry cook at a McDonald's Corporation MCD could show just how far political candidates will go to win over swing state voters in the 2024 presidential election.
What Happened: Pennsylvania is quickly becoming one of the most important states in the 2024 election, with its swing state status and 19 electoral college votes up for grabs.
In an upcoming campaign stop in the state, Trump will visit a McDonald's restaurant and "work the fry cooker," according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.
While the specific McDonald's location and the duration of Trump's visit remain unclear, the campaign stop follows his response to his opponent’s statements about having worked at a McDonald's in the past.
Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff have both said they previously worked at McDonald's locations, with Harris saying she did so when in college and Emhoff even saying he once won an Employee of the Month award.
"We don't want to hear fake promises, even something like she worked very long and hard hours over french fries at McDonald's. She never worked at McDonald's. It's a fake story," Trump said at a campaign rally in September.
Trump said at the time that he planned to "work" at a McDonald's in the future.
"I think I'm going to a McDonald's in two weeks actually and I'm gonna work the french fries because I will have worked longer and harder at McDonald's than she did if I do that even for a half hour."
Trump won the state of Pennsylvania in the 2016 election but lost it in the 2020 election. As reported by 270towin.com, the state has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in seven of the last eight elections and eight of the last 12. The 2016 election marked the only time in the past six presidential elections that the Democratic candidate did not get at least 50% of the vote.
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Why It's Important: Sunday's visit to Pennsylvania will mark Trump's third time in the state during the week.
Trump is also scheduled to attend the Pittsburgh Steelers home Sunday Night Football game against the New York Jets. The game will air on NBC, a unit of Comcast Corporation CMCSA.
Harris has also visited Pennsylvania several times in recent months, including a stop on Monday in Erie and a planned stop in the Philadelphia suburbs on Wednesday.
The current vice president has used her past employment at McDonald's to connect with middle-class workers and voters and to paint the contrast between herself and Trump, who inherited wealth.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) previously used Harris’ McDonald's employment to illustrate the contrast.
"One candidate worked at McDonald's… The other was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and helped his daddy in the family business: housing discrimination," Crockett said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, referenced her experience working at McDonald’s to highlight the vice president's middle-class upbringing in contrast to Trump during a September speech.
"I keep asking this to make a contrast here. Can you simply picture Trump working at a McDonald's trying to make a McFlurry or something?" Walz asked. "He couldn't run that damn McFlurry machine."
Trump is known for his love of McDonald's, and it was his food of choice after a court appearance last year the day before his birthday. After covering his staff's food orders at Versailles, a Cuban restaurant, and taking photos with fans, Trump opted for a meal from the fast food giant instead.
The former president asked the White House staff to make similar versions of popular McDonald's menu items while in office.
In 2023, Trump bought food from McDonald's for first responders following the Ohio train derailment. Trump told a McDonald's worker that he might know the menu better than all the workers.
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