Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is being slammed by critics who say his recent visit to a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania was a “desperate” ploy for votes in the final two weeks before Election Day.
“Donald Trump is a joke. I think it’s a desperate and poor ploy to try to appeal to working-class voters,” Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis told theGrio.
Davis, who has been hitting the pavement talking to voters in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, continued: “We know Donald Trump grew up on Fifth Avenue with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
Though Trump made headlines over the weekend as he made french fries and delivered meals at a drive-through, the lieutenant governor told theGrio that Trump “never worked a day in his life in a working-class job.”
He added, “It’s, quite frankly, offensive to the people who work hard every single day in jobs like that.”
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, now a senior fellow at People For the American Way, said Trump’s McDonald’s visit showed that the election has reached “the goofy stage of the campaign.”
“This is the most insane kind of campaign from the most insane candidate we’ve ever experienced in our lifetime,” Barnes told theGrio.
While at the McDonald’s drive-thru, a reporter asked Trump if he supported raising the federal minimum wage. Currently, workers at fast food restaurants like McDonald’s make just $7.25 an hour. Trump refused to answer the question. Instead, he simply said, “…These people work hard.”
Barnes said Trump’s refusal to support raising the federal minimum wage shows the “complete hypocrisy” of the presidential candidate.
“His wealth, or perceived wealth, wouldn’t have been anywhere near where it is now if it weren’t for exploiting working people,” said Barnes, who nearly won his 2022 race for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.
He added, “That’s why he found himself in that kitchen and pretending to be a man of the people … and totally refused to do anything that would help improve their quality of life.”
Lt. Gov. Davis, who admits Pennsylvania voters are “closely divided” between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, said, “It’s clear that Donald Trump doesn’t support working-class people.”
The Democratic leader noted, “He doesn’t have a problem saying he will cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans, but he won’t raise the minimum wage, and I think that’s the clearest contrast of who he fights for and where he stands.”
Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC, told theGrio that, unlike Harris, Trump has not released his “economic plans” for working-class people and small businesses.
“He hasn’t talked about things such as increasing the minimum wage, expanding tax credits for middle-class folks, or working for small business,” said Brown.
He continued, “You can stage your McDonald’s time if you want, but at the end of the day, what are your policies that are going to actually help people who work at McDonald’s, who run McDonald’s franchises around the country?”
Brown points out that Trump has been running for president for eight years (four of which he was president) and yet did nothing to improve wages for working-class Americans.
“He could have supported unions that have protection for workers. He hasn’t done that,” he argued. “He could have supported workers safety and workers’ compensation policies for any of those who happen to get hurt, be it a fry cook, be it a janitor … he could have done that.”
Brown said of Trump’s McDonald’s spectacle, “To him, this is all the reality show up.” He added, “Ultimately, he’s not serious about being president for the working-class people. He’s interested in protecting himself and people like him.”