”You have no idea. Middle-class Americans adore Donald, and I don`t know why.

”They shouldn`t,” she says. ”They should resent him. He`s young and wealthy and he flaunts it.”

In my experience, people who resent the wealthy tend to be middle-class themselves, but look down on their peers in said class.

https://babylonbee.com/news/investigation-reveals-trumps-role-in-home-alone-2-was-staged

• When Donahue died in August a blogger I read posted the 1987 interview ^^ that was referenced in the 1989 Chicago Tribune article.

^^ = see link below

• Was struck by how hostile Donahue was, and by his use of the same – poorly reasoned – talking points that are still used today by people who often describe themselves as liberals/ progressives.

• Was also struck by how well Trump countered Donahue’ points by using reality/ common sense-based points – which seemed to appeal to much of the audience – and by how Trump’ positions then, aligned with his philosophies/ policies as President decades later.

https://youtu.be/RSb4CmeZd08

Thread winner. I’m from Jersey and have followed Trump for 40 years. You cannot be aloof in the Big Apple real estate scene.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/10/21/trump-visits-barbershop-in-bronx-n2180868

But Trump also had an interesting interaction at a barbershop in the Bronx at the end of last week with Fox’s Lawrence Jones. While some clips leaked before now, Fox ran the spot Monday morning. Once again it showed how comfortable he was, just sitting there, talking with people and taking questions that were important to them.

Good details at the link.
They liked his answers.

Speaking of demographics: the group photo of the McDonald’s crew he worked with are a Diversity Officer’s dream, but no one seems to mention that.

https://redstate.com/bradslager/2024/10/21/trump-serving-fries-at-mcdonalds-has-the-press-wanting-to-speak-to-the-manager-and-were-loving-it-n2180859

The Washington Post was also caustic about this performance, further breaking the story that this appearance was orchestrated. (GASP!) The detail they exposed is that the location had been closed ahead of time, and the “customers” in the drive-thru were pre-screened by the Secret Service. Seriously, who is at all surprised that a photo-op was prearranged and set up as a press event?! They basically ordered ahead, as we heard about this days prior.

But note, too, this is the same press gaggle that was not only unbothered when Kamala Harris and Tim Walz staged a visit to Primanti Brothers and went so far as to describe the campaign workers bussed in for the private event as just “diners” the duo had popped in to chat with that day.
…
But the press is incurious about this fable and instead calls out the staged shift Trump worked. This shows how successful it was. Almost exclusively, these types of campaign events deliver unsatisfying orders. We will see a candidate wander into an unfamiliar setting and pose and posture – say behind a counter or in another worker position – make strained comments for the cameras and look wholly uncomfortable in a photo-op that mostly delivers cringing visuals over compelling scenes.

Trump, though, seems able to immerse himself and enjoy what he is doing, somehow managing to look comfortable even while wearing formal wear under an apron to serve fries and chat with drivers out a window. Think back to Kamala and Tim Walz at a convenience store stop and “bantering” over a bag of Doritos; they were about as natural as a patch of an astroturf “lawn” on the deck of a houseboat.

So the press had to leap to the fore and complain about the service, apparently ignorant of what they were falling prey to all the while. They swamped the zone with reports of his event, all while delivering the images of his visit and re-churning the story of Kamala’s false time working at the Golden Arches.

In other words, the press is delivering exactly what Donald Trump ordered.

I’ve binge-read most of the posts at Red State just for the fun of seeing the Regime melt down, which has only kept the stupidity of her remarks at the top of the news cycle.

Her unsubstantiated claims could have just drifted into the general stream of lies and exaggerations that all politicians indulge in, had she “read the room” and dropped them, but she kept pushing them in her speeches.

(I see a lot of resonance with John Kerry and the Swift Boat Veterans, who always knew he was lying about his military record, but let it lay until he tried to gaslight the country as a presidential candidate with his “ready to serve” schtick – not unlike Tim Walz.)

The lack of verification grows stronger and stronger against the attempts to justify her claims (all the NYT has is the word of her campaign staff and an unnamed friend).
Most pundits/commenters bring up the lack of W-2 stubs, tax records (returns can be discarded after 5 years), co-workers or customers, etc.

I think the most telling clue is this from a RedState comment:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/08/29/it-sure-looks-like-kamala-harris-made-up-her-tale-of-working-at-mcdonalds-n2178666#comment-6538331720

anon-877v 2 months ago
I worked at McDonald’s at at $3.25 / hour I was able to pay my way through college (plus 3 add’l part time jobs at minimum wage). Almost everyone I know knows i worked there. If KH did work there, she may have never mentioned it becuase it would be beneath her. Plus.. wouldn’t her mom or dad know? They could also confirm.

I don’t recall seeing either of them say yea or nay about this suddenly-important part of her resume.

And several former McDonald’s employees point out that, when they were there, no one “worked the fries” exclusively, as she implied. I don’t know about that, but the one fast-food place I worked in did separate the front (take orders, pull drinks, distribute the food) from the back (cook the burgers and the fries, and the rest of the menu).

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/08/29/it-sure-looks-like-kamala-harris-made-up-her-tale-of-working-at-mcdonalds-n2178666

According to Harris, she “did fries” before moving over to work as a cashier, and that’s just the first part of the tale that doesn’t necessarily add up. The behind-the-counter dynamic at McDonald’s doesn’t typically have a specific person only cooking fries. With that said, it’s at least possible she labored at a unique McDonald’s that had her only cooking fries before moving over to be a cashier.

One commenter says, well, maybe she had it right:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/08/29/it-sure-looks-like-kamala-harris-made-up-her-tale-of-working-at-mcdonalds-n2178666#comment-6538337485

Reagan Republican 2 months ago edited
I worked at McDonald’s from 72 to 77. I started out on fries and shakes. Positions were cashier, fries and shakes, meat (ran the grill), buns ( ran the toasters), dresser ( applied condiments to toasted buns and ran fryers for pies and fish). It was very regimented. Pay was $1.65 per hour.

But another puts a “Babylon Bee” spin on the story:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/08/29/it-sure-looks-like-kamala-harris-made-up-her-tale-of-working-at-mcdonalds-n2178666#comment-6538333857

Anonymous source working at McD’s… Yes, we put her on fries, she just continued to mess up the condiments on the burgers, she just couldn’t get it right, so we put her on fries, with a timer, drop em in, press the button, when’s it dings pull them out ! Yes, we probably should have told her to put the fries in the baskets, not just drop them in, but still, leaving the plastic wrap on ? So the cashier position was her last shot and quite frankly, I can’t say anymore, she left under mysterious circumstances.

Yes, I noticed that too.

I seem to recall that, right at the beginning, the press wanted to build him up because they thought if the GOP nominated him he was sure to lose. They wanted to encourage his nomination, but after that happened they planned to start to destroy him. Also, at the very beginning he was considered good for ratings and not really a threat.