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‘Supersized Lies with Order of Fries’ McDonalds Campaign Controversy

Every campaign and candidate have missteps, misstatements, and avoidable glitches. Some may seem minor but effectively ended campaigns.

L. A. "Tony" Kovach, Neighbor

Posted Mon, Oct 21, 2024 at 4:16 pm ET|Updated Fri, Oct 25, 2024 at 12:05 pm ET

Base images via X and per sources as shown. Text and collage credits are by L. A. "Tony" Kovach for the Patch.

Joseph “Joe” “Biden ran unsuccessfully for the 1988 and 2008 Democratic presidential nominations,” according to left-leaning Wikipedia. Joe Biden’s 1988 run for the Democratic Party’s nomination effectively ended when it was revealed that he had plagiarized material from others, failing to credit others for their words. That is a kind of lie compounded by problematic taking the creative product of others. Earlier this year, when Harvard's President Claudine Gay was revealed to have plagiarized, she ended up resigning under pressure. So, in essence, lies and coverups of various types have ended campaigns and have hurt careers.

Those examples tees up (i.e.: sets up) a new, real-world application of several of the principles and examples shared in this pre-election information series. Because liars and plagiarists in campaigns are routinely punished by enough voters that they either drop out or lose. All three of the major world religions teach that lying and deception is wrong. But you don't even have to be a believer to see that rewarding a liar only tees up and opportunity for something even worse.

During his recent interview with Kamala Harris (D), Bret Baier, per the U.K. Guardian, asked the Democratic presidential candidate the following. ‘Trump has the support of “half the country.” Baier added: “Are they stupid?”

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“I would never say that about the American people.” But there is video of Kamala Harris saying that young people are stupid. She used that very word, "stupid." The only reason that such troubling statements haven’t already sunk her campaign is because much of the media and big tech are in her corner.

Left-leaning Reuters says that video clip lacks context. Left-leaning FactCheck.org quoted the above video clip and provided the context. Per the later source is the following.

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Kamala Harris (D) continued, “What’s the other thing we know about this population? And it’s a specific phase of life — remember, age is more than a chronological fact. What else do we know about this population, 18 through 24? They are stupid.” The audience laughed, and Harris continued, “That is why we put them in dormitories and they have a resident assistant! They make really bad decisions.”

FactCheck.org softens that "stupid" remark from Kamala by explaining: "So, Harris may have been a little glib in her 2014 speech. But she was addressing the fact that young people who are in the criminal justice system are still developing, and she was advocating programs that would help them develop responsible skills." Which begs the question. Why is it that Harris and her party are given a pass on "glib" remarks but Trump and MAGA Republicans would be excoriated for doing the same thing?

What that backdrop, the following is adapted from a longer article with numbers of videos and X-posts, some of which used language that are not permitted on the Patch due to community guidelines. On a personal note, I personally avoid bad language too. Have I used it on occasion? Yes, but not as a rule. My point is, I respect the Patch guidelines on keeping it clean.

Part I

1) With that backdrop, we can now pivot to the other part of the headline. Namely, the repeated claims of Kamala Harris (D) and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (MN-D) that Harris worked at McDonalds. According to the Trump campaign, they have searched for evidence that she did work at McDonalds and can’t find any. Harris and her campaign have as of 10.20.2024 not yet offered proof of her claim of working at McDonalds. While there are naturally claims made for and against Harris’ assertion, this from the U.K. Telegraph on 10.20.2024 is noteworthy.

"Staff at a branch of McDonald’s have been sworn to secrecy about whether Kamala Harris ever worked there after Donald Trump accused her of lying.

Employees at the franchise in Alameda, California told The Telegraph they had been instructed by bosses not to talk about the vice-president, after claims that she invented her summer job to appear more authentic to voters.

Trump visited a franchise of the restaurant in Feasterville, Pennsylvania on Sunday, and cooked fries in one of the branch’s fryers. The dine-in restaurant was closed to the public to accommodate his visit, but the drive-thru remained open.

“This is fun, I could do this all day,” he said, after serving a customer from the hatch. “I wouldn’t mind this job.”

Donning a McDonald’s apron, he asked an employee: “Do I take off my jacket? The press wants to see this.”

He was then instructed on how to cook and season the fries.

Ms Harris has spoken repeatedly about her time at the restaurant, and says her job there during her university degree in the 1980s inspired her to support working families.

“Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family,” she told MSNBC last month.

Ms Harris said she first “did fries” at the restaurant and then worked as a cashier to help pay for her law degree at the University of California.

It is not known which branch in Alameda Ms Harris worked at, but at one location, on Shore Line Drive, The Telegraph understands the owner asked staff not to speak about Ms Harris after the branch began to receive calls from journalists looking to verify Ms Harris’s claim. …”

Deeper into that report, the Telegraph said this.

"Neither Ms Harris nor Trump have offered proof of their claims about her job there. In an interview on Fox News on Thursday, he said he had asked the restaurant’s owner about it.

“I know she didn’t [work there],” he said. “We checked it out. They said she never worked here. She even picked the store. We went to the manager. The manager’s been there forever.”

Ms Harris did not mention the job in either of her memoirs, published in 2010 and 2019, and appears to have first revealed the job during a rally in Las Vegas in 2019."

On the one hand, as Trump himself said, lying about working at McDonalds “is not a big thing” in the larger scheme of possible issues that might be explored, like open borders, much higher prices for goods, services, fuel, utilities, and housing in the U.S., all of which Kamala Harris (D) and Joe Biden (D) have both said she took part in and voted for the policies in place in the last 3.5 years.

As the left-leaning, and pro-Harris, pro-Democratic, New York Times said, Harris cast a record number of tie breaking votes in support of the Biden-Harris agenda in Congress. Then there are the international policies, and the apparent cover-up from the public by Harris of Biden’s cognitive decline. Harris repeatedly asserted, when asked, how sharp and vigorous Biden was claimed to be. All those apparently false claims about how sharp Biden was fell apart in the wake of the Trump-Biden debate in June 2024.

In showing facts and evidence, often from sources that lean left and that supports Harris, this contributing writer for the Patch is making several points. In no particular order of importance are the following.

2) While media often is biased, it is often possible to demonstrate realities that are embarrassing to the left (or in this case, the leftist Kamala Harris (D) campaign) from leftist sources. So, while Trump and others may use the term "fake news" there may be more precise terms that better describe what is occurring. The fact that Harris is far left is easily demonstrated too.

3) If Harris is lying about working at McDonalds and given that it is increasingly acknowledged that Harris plagiarized parts of her book and other writings, that begs a serious question. Is she trustworthy?

4) As noted above, Joe Biden's (D) 1988 run for presidency and Harvard's prior president Claudine Gay had to step down due to pressure over plagiarism and deception, why should anyone believe her campaign claims over a so-called opportunity economy and other promises?

5) Kamala Harris (D) can’t have it both ways. Harris can’t be an agent for change when she has been part of the Biden-Harris regime for 3.5 years and she admitted many times that she was a part of the reality of recent years.

6) To see the longer, more evidence packed report on this topic, see the report with analysis linked here.

7) Andrew Keel with the Washington Free Beacon broke several elements of these Harris and her campaign claims in this video interview below. This was well in advance of Trump cooking fries at McDonalds, but is obviously part of the backdrop (see Trump at McDonalds in the second video).

8) Trump is correctly accused of being guilty of exaggeration on a range of issues, but some attribute that to the part of the country he is from, where people exaggerate to make a point. But from this writer's perspective, the question is which candidate can be more trusted? Given that an array of 'anti-Trump' claims over the years have been systematically debunked, and given that Trump's record is known for 4 years and Kamala Harris is known for 3.5 years in the Biden-Harris (D) years, plus years before as a leftist U.S. Senator, this is not a difficult decision for objective thinkers. We provided the following days ago to make those points well before this dustup over French fries, plagiarism and lies.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

9) Some people won't be convinced by any amount of evidence, I get that, and many readers will too. But a close look at her record vs. Trump's should make this an easy decision. But there is more at stake than just the White House. More on the down ballot issues in the days ahead. Stay tuned.

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It is serious issues like the following (and above) that make lies and plagiarism by Harris, Walz, and her campaign revealing. While it is possible that Harris has exaggerated or is setting some kind of trap with this McDonalds claim, there is plenty of evidence that her campaign has retreated on this topic, which indicates trouble for her. If she and they can't tell the truth about relatively modest things, why should they be believed about big things?

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This is the time when millions are 'tuning in' and are making decisions about who to vote for and why. There is much, much more in the articles that are linked below (that include some linked above, but many others including on affordable housing and manufactured homes). See the linked and related reports and watch for more insights in this pre-election series on the Patch by yours truly. ###

For a sample ballot, specific tips and voting guide for Polk County, Florida click here or below.
https://patch.com/florida/lake...
To learn more about specific issues, see the articles below.

> Kamala Harris Reveals Her Stance Toward Catholics and Other Christians

> How do Hurricanes Helene and Milton Rank in Inflation Adjusted Cost$?

> Controversy-Manufactured Housing Institute-Lesli Gooch-Mark Bowersox

> 34,758 Votes May Decide ‘24 Election & Dr. George Barna@ACU Research

> Other Countries Homeownership Rates vs. U.S. – Fix Affordable Housing

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> Visual Capitalist Shows Top 15 Artificial Intelligence-AI-Online Tools

> Burning Bush Cove, Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and Where Is God?

> Lila Rose Open Letter and Other Pro-Lifers not Planning to Vote Trump

> Afghan Released by Biden-Harris Admin Arrested for Terror Attack Plot

> How do Hurricanes Helene and Milton Rank in Inflation Adjusted Cost$?

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