Observation by Qin Peng: Trump’s McDonald’s Show Provokes Controversy with Musk’s Million Dollar Prize

【Epoch Times, October 23, 2024】Hello, viewers, welcome to “Observations by Qin Peng.”

Today’s focus: American fast food giant McDonald’s has once again been caught up in the whirlwind of controversy surrounding the 2024 election in the past few days, and there are many untold stories behind it. Some of which you may have never heard of.

The world’s richest man, Musk, recently announced a prize of $1 million per day for swing state voters, sparking a debate on its legality.

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On Sunday, former President Trump fried fries at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, causing a viral sensation and forcing McDonald’s to come out and debunk the rumors.

The video we see now is a satire comedy video, which is also a characteristic of American democracy: anyone can make jokes about the president or other political figures without fear of being arrested or jailed.

Trump frying fries this time stems from a claim by current Vice President Harris that she worked at McDonald’s during the summer of 1983 in college to create her middle-class image, criticizing Trump for being a wealthy elite who is out of touch with everyday life.

For example, Democratic Texas Representative Crockett described it as, “One candidate worked at McDonald’s, while the other was born with a silver spoon in their mouth.” Harris’s deputy Walz also said, “Can you imagine Trump working at McDonald’s?”

In response, Trump said Harris was lying about working at McDonald’s, so the Sunday fry-off ensued. Trump even joked on-site, saying he only needed to work for 15 minutes, longer than Harris’s supposed work time.

McDonald’s is a national fast food chain in the U.S., with over 13,500 stores nationwide, where tens of millions of Americans have worked at McDonald’s. Trump, by taking off his suit and wearing a black and yellow apron to work at McDonald’s, bridged the gap with voters. Trump chose a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania to emphasize that in swing states, “people are important, and employment is also essential.”

However, despite the showmanship, Trump actually worked a full shift for several hours, enjoying it, and said he would come back for more. Yet, many arrangements were made due to security concerns, as Trump has been under tight protection by the U.S. Secret Service since surviving two assassination attempts. Therefore, everyone who passed through the drive-thru to buy McDonald’s underwent strict security checks and knew in advance that Trump would be there.

Trump’s appearance had several highlights. One widely circulated clip was him finding out it was Harris’s 60th birthday that day, wishing her a happy birthday and even wanting to send her a bouquet of flowers. Moreover, a Brazilian immigrant told President Trump, “Please don’t let America become like Brazil.” This remark holds a cultural reference as Brazil and South Africa were once prosperous but declined due to socialist policies.

However, as related news continued to escalate, McDonald’s became very nervous. On Monday, McDonald’s released a statement attempting to distance itself to avoid being dragged into the public opinion maelstrom. The statement read, “As anticipated, our brand has become a focal point in this election. Although this wasn’t the outcome we were seeking. McDonald’s has never endorsed a political candidate, and it’s no different in this presidential election.”

McDonald’s stated, “While we are not a political brand, we are proud to hear about former President Trump’s love for McDonald’s and Vice President Harris’s fond memories of working under the golden arches.” McDonald’s and its franchise operators emphasized that McDonald’s welcomes “everyone.”

In 2020, McDonald’s openly supported the Black Lives Matter movement, but over the years, it has always attempted to portray itself as a non-political brand, aiming not to “lose market share” due to its position.

This actually aligns with the majority of American public sentiment today. According to Gallup and University of Bentley research, only 38% of American adults believe that businesses should publicly state their political views, a figure significantly lower than the 48% in 2022.

Seizing on the heated topic, the lesser-known 2024 presidential candidate, Little Kennedy, took the opportunity to discuss his strongly advocated health issues. He pointed out that McDonald’s used beef tallow to make fries from 1940 until gradually phasing it out in 1990, switching to seed oil instead. This transition was due to saturated animal fat being deemed unhealthy, but it was later found that seed oil was a driving factor in the obesity epidemic. He suggested it’s time to revert back to using butter for frying.

However, The Wall Street Journal editorial board thought Trump’s Sunday show was good, though he missed a bigger opportunity to highlight how Harris’s agenda could jeopardize jobs and franchise restaurants.

The editorial board believed that fast-food jobs offer young people lessons on how to treat customers politely, be punctual, and accept and fulfill orders, all of which benefit their entire careers. Yet, Vice President Harris is making these jobs more difficult.

Firstly, the Biden administration’s National Labor Relations Board enacted new joint employer rules to make it easier for unions to organize workers at franchise stores, reducing the autonomy of franchise operators and increasing costs, resulting in fewer job opportunities for young people.

In the spring of this year, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution to stop this provision. However, President Biden vetoed the bill.

Furthermore, Harris supports raising the current federal minimum wage to $7.25. The federal government also raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15, and some left-wing individuals hoped to raise it to $20. However, this move is seen as potentially increasing youth unemployment rates, as those with the least experience and skills would be more easily pushed out of the job market by higher minimum wages.

Recent research shows that in the 20 states with a minimum wage of $7.25, the unemployment rate is 3.1%, while in the 15 states with minimum wages between $14 and $17, the median unemployment rate is 4.2%. In 2020, Harris’s home state of California raised the minimum hourly wage from $12 to $16, resulting in an increase in the unemployment rate of 16 to 19-year-olds from 10.8% to 19.2%, while the national youth unemployment rate only increased from 10.5% to 11.9% during the same period.

When it comes to U.S. elections, many people mention October surprises. So far, the 2024 election has had four major “October surprises”: First, the vice-presidential debates, which turned the tables for Trump; second, during a hurricane, Harris criticized the Florida governor for not answering her calls, prompting Biden to quickly claim that he had spoken with DeSantis over the phone and lauded Florida’s performance. Earlier, Biden even wore a red MAGA hat.

Third, Musk going all-in for the U.S. election, coupled with the successes of SpaceX, attracted the attention of a large number of swing voters and young people; fourth, Harris unexpectedly appeared for an interview on Fox News but faltered in answering several questions, turning her attempt to win over swing voters into a debacle.

Undoubtedly, if Trump wins this year’s election, Musk will become the most critical key figure. Not only has he contributed manpower and money, but he has also, as a donor, remarkably organized numerous rallies and personally given speeches, recounting his personal journey, surprising many.

Honestly, in the U.S., everyone is trained in public speaking from a young age and is nearly fluent in it, but Musk, who was born in South Africa, is an exception; he is not proficient in public speaking. Nevertheless, Musk’s speeches have touched the hearts of millions of Americans. His speeches are heartfelt, direct, and to the point.

One of his widely quoted speeches goes like this: “We clearly want secure borders, we want safe cities, reasonable spending so we don’t have crazy inflation, we want free speech, we want to have the Constitution protected. I’m told that these are right-wing values. I’m like ‘Are you kidding me?’ Anyone who opposes these things is fundamentally anti-American, let them go to hell!”

Musk did not directly donate to Trump, but he established a super PAC called “America PAC” and donated $75 million to it. The PAC’s goal is to promote voter registration in crucial battleground states. Musk posted on X platform that he would provide $47 to anyone who signed the PAC’s petition supporting the Constitution’s First and Second Amendments and recommended others to register to vote.

On October 19, Musk announced a significant reward, stating, “Starting now until the election, we will be giving away one million dollars a day.” The only condition for winning was for swing state voters to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution.

This move stirred controversy. Three experts told NBC News that this is a legal gray area and may violate election laws because under federal election law, paying someone to vote or register to vote is illegal.

However, Musk circumvented these laws. Both Musk and America PAC stated that the petition only required support for American constitutional rights, with signatories not needing any particular party affiliation. Hence, whether you support the Republican or Democratic party or are a moderate voter, you could potentially be randomly selected to win one million dollars. Furthermore, you didn’t even need to vote.

So, is this legal or not? Stanford Law School professor, Nate Persily, stated that this is in a gray area, a new topic that hasn’t been encountered before.

Jeremy Paul, a constitutional law professor at Northeastern University School of Law, wrote in an email to BBC that while some consider the proposal possibly illegal, it is “targeted and designed to skirt legal requirements,” making it difficult should the case be brought before a court.

Brad Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told The New York Times that the giveaway is “a grayish area,” but not “close to the line yet.”

“He doesn’t pay for their registration to vote. He pays for their signing a petition, and he only wants people who are going to register to vote to sign the petition. I think he’s doing well here,” Brad said.

With only two weeks left until November 5, the day of the election, the throne for the most powerful presidency in the world will soon be determined. What other significant stories will unfold behind? Let’s stay tuned.

Just a reminder: On Election Day this year, I will host a livestream for over 8 hours on the Ganjing website and New Tang Dynasty channel. Please join in for watching and analysis.

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