Former president Donald Trump briefly manned the fry station during a stage-managed visit to a McDonald’s franchise on Sunday, but he dodged a question about increasing the minimum wage.
Wearing an apron, the Republican presidential nominee lifted fries out of the hot oil, shook them, salted them and placed them into containers for service. He praised the staff and the company, then popped his head out the drive-through window and waved at a crowd that had gathered across the street. He began to hand out paper bags to the cars that had been waiting in line before his arrival. One man said, “Trump 2024!” as he drove away.
The restaurant was closed to the public during Trump’s visit, and the motorists whom Trump served were screened by the U.S. Secret Service and positioned before his arrival. No one ordered food. Instead, the attendees received whatever Trump gave them.
Trump was at the fry station for about five minutes and spent about 15 minutes at the drive-through window, much of it taking questions from reporters.
“This is not a normal situation, is it?” he said while waving through the window at the crowd of supporters gathered outside.
Asked whether he’d accept the 2024 election results, he did not commit. “Sure, if it’s a fair election,” he said, as he has before.
Trump, a real-estate-billionaire-turned-politician, also did not answer a question about whether he supported raising the minimum wage.
“Well, I think this. These people work hard,” Trump said. “They’re great. And I just saw something — a process that’s beautiful.”
McDonald’s workers make an average of $13 to $15 per hour nationwide, according to hiring websites Indeed and ZipRecruiter. In Pennsylvania, which follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, fast-food workers make an average of $13.20 per hour, according to 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
(Washington Post)
