The owner of a suburban Philadelphia McDonald’s has hired a team of security guards to handle any threats at his establishment following Donald Trump’s visit there Sunday.
The photo-op had Trump dunking fries in oil, posing with workers, and handing out bags of food – while also fielding questions on the minimum wage, whether he would accept the results of the elections, and his claim that Kamala Harris never worked at the chain as she says she did.
Negative reviews began piling up on Yelp days before and after Trump’s visit, eventually prompting the owner to take action.
‘If you want your food served with a mix of racism and fascism, this is the McDonald’s for you. The owner of this franchise is showing us who and what he is,’ went one angry review posted by Jim S. after word got out that Trump would be visiting.
The security has been present since throngs of Trump supporters lined the streets outside the Feasterville restaurant to cheer on Trump, who tried the fry station and served food through the drive-thru window to a group of supporters.
That event featured a massive security presence including members of the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
The online review site Yelp has imposed an ‘unusual activity alert’ after online began posting a string of statements for and against Trump on the site.
‘This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news,’ according to the notice.
‘While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events. Please note that we apply this same policy regardless of the business and regardless of the topic at issue.’
On Monday, the day after the event, armed guards in bulletproof vests were seated inside the McDonald’s, the Daily Caller reported.
Businessman Jim Worthington, who led the state’s delegation to the Republican National Convention, told the publication the restaurant got threatening phone calls and social media posts and that owner Derek Giacomantonio got a private security force for potential threats.
Giacomantonio on the day of Trump’s visit posted a sign on his store, announcing the temporary closure and writing that ‘while we are not a political organization, we proudly open our doors to everyone.’ He said the visit gave the chance to ‘shine a light on the positive impact of small businesses.’
Minders prevented reporters from snapping photos of the store staff Sunday, citing security reasons, although Trump later posed with store workers for the media.
