President Donald Trump’s weekend work at McDonald’s was a great way to draw the contrast between what I’m calling the French fries nation and the French Laundry nation.
Anyone who has spent time with President Trump knows his passion for fast food is real. Going to a McDonald’s is totally authentic. By contrast, Vice President Harris and her celebrity friends seem more likely to eat at the French Laundry than the Golden Arches.
Let me make clear that I have enormous respect for Chef Thomas Keller and his extraordinary culinary achievements at French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York. Similarly, Callista and I have the greatest affection and admiration for Chef Patrick O’Connell and his Inn at Little Washington. These establishments deserve their tremendous reputations. They offer exquisite food and exceptional service. But many Americans don’t get the opportunity to eat at restaurants with three Michelin stars.
Instead, millions of Americans (and hundreds of thousands in other countries around the world) have had their introductions to the work ethic, serving customers, and running businesses at McDonald’s.
Back in 2016, the elites poked fun at President Trump’s experience starring on “The Apprentice” TV show. They didn’t understand its impact on building his base and developing his audience relationship skills – which no other candidate matched.
Now, the elites are scorning him for working the drive-thru window at a McDonald’s on Sunday. Once again, they don’t get it.
This really struck me Tuesday as I stopped at a McDonald’s in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The steady stream of travelers getting breakfast was a powerful reminder of the institution’s reach and identity with most Americans.
So, President Trump’s McDonald’s shift was a brilliant move for several reasons.
First, seeing President Trump taking orders at the drive-thru was a direct taunt to Vice President Kamala Harris’s assertion that she had worked at McDonalds as a teenager. Despite numerous challenges, the Harris campaign has not been able to find any records that she had worked at a McDonald’s. Given her running mate Tim Walz’s pattern of constant falsehoods about his past, it made some sense to think that Harris had perhaps invented the story. After all, working a middle-class, entry-level job that millions of Americans have held could make her a little more relatable. It was a nice effort to posture as “one of us,” except she can’t prove it.
As Newsweek reported, an old job application they reviewed for Harris “was for a law clerk position in the Alameda County district attorney’s office in October 1987. In a section asking the candidate to list every position they’ve held in the prior 10 years, Harris listed several jobs, but not the McDonald’s gig.”
So, by announcing he was going to work at the McDonald’s in Feasterville, Penn., President Trump drew renewed attention to Harris’s questionable claim. At the same time, he made himself relatable and approachable.
Also, the left has always had contempt for what it calls “hamburger flipping jobs.” In fact, Vice President Harris said in 2019, “If we want to talk about these Golden Arches being a symbol for the best of America, well, the arches are falling short.”
Working Americans can get an Egg McMuffin (one of my favorites) at breakfast, a Filet-O-Fish at lunch, and a Big Mac for dinner. I always opt for the McDonald’s vanilla cone as part of my experience. Callista and I often swing by McDonald’s in Mclean, Va. for coffee (it’s less expensive and better than its more prestigious competitors).
President Trump had another a huge advantage in working at McDonald’s. He enjoys life, and he likes people. If you watch the video of him making French fries or hanging out at the drive-thru window taking orders, he clearly had a great time.
In fact, there’s an episode of Oprah in which Trump did a series of jobs at the Trump Hotel. Watching him as a bellman walking a guest’s dog, and happily delivering room service is a far cry from the left’s image of him.
By way of contrast, it is almost impossible to imagine Harris leaning out the window at McDonald’s or dressing like a valet.
As I watched the scorn with which the left ridiculed President Trump at McDonald’s, it occurred to me that French fries versus French Laundry was a good explanation of the enormous cultural power struggle in which America is engaged.
The left doesn’t just have contempt for the restaurant which 87 percent of their fellow citizens visit. It also rejects the notion that “one-in-eight Americans, roughly 41 million people, have worked at one of the chain’s 13,500 U.S. locations. That includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, television host Jay Leno, and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda.”
If the Nov. 5 election comes down to the French fries nation versus the French Laundry nation, the landslide in favor of President Trump will be beyond belief.
Americans could then celebrate by ordering their favorite fast food as the second Trump administration brings down inflation and increases economic growth.
By contrast, if Vice President Harris wins, her terrible economic policies will continue. As a result, many Americans will not be able to afford to go to McDonald’s.
For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.
