
Yelp suspends reviews for PA McDonald’s after Trump campaign visit
By Karah Rucker (Reporter), Alex Delia (Producer), Michael Edwards (Video Editor)
Yelp has temporarily disabled reviews for a McDonald’s in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, following a campaign stop by former President Donald Trump. The restaurant’s Yelp page was flooded with politicized reviews, leading the platform to investigate whether the comments reflected actual customer experiences.
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The event was closed to the public, and only customers screened by the Secret Service were served. Yelp users quickly posted a flurry of reviews, some poking fun at Trump.
One commenter quipped, “The fries were too salty, as if someone who lost a major election had been crying over them for an hour,” while another joked about “bronzer on my fries.”

Yelp issued a statement saying, “This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news… we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page.”

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The platform explained that it was working to determine whether the reviews reflected real consumer experiences.

Some five-star reviews also appeared, with one user calling it the “best McDonald’s I’ve ever been to in 47 years,” praising Trump’s involvement as an “extremely nice older employee.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson responded to the controversy by blaming Vice President Kamala Harris and her supporters, accusing them of attempting to “terrorize a franchisee owner of a great American establishment.”
This is not the first time Trump has been targeted in Yelp review bombing campaigns. In 2018, his Washington hotel saw hundreds of one-star reviews after he made controversial remarks about immigration.
[Karah Rucker]
A MCDONALD’S IN PENNSYLVANIA IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AFTER A VISIT FROM FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, WHO TOOK A TURN WORKING THE FRY STATION OVER THE WEEKEND AS PART OF A CAMPAIGN STOP. IT SPARKED A WAVE OF HIGHLY POLITICIZED REVIEWS ON THE RESTAURANT’S YELP PAGE, CAUSING THE PLATFORM TO TEMPORARILY DISABLE COMMENTS.
TRUMP WAS SEEN WORKING THE FRY STATIONS AND HANDING OUT FOOD AT THE MCDONALD’S FRANCHISE IN FEASTERVILLE. THE EVENT WAS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, AND ONLY THOSE SCREENED BY SECRET SERVICE WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE THEIR ORDERS. BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP AN INFLUX OF OPINIONS FROM FLOODING THE MCDONALD’S YELP PAGE.
YELP QUICKLY FLAGGED THE REVIEWS AS POTENTIALLY FAKE AND ISSUED A NOTICE ON THE PAGE, EXPLAINING THE SITUATION. THE COMPANY STATED, “THIS BUSINESS RECENTLY RECEIVED INCREASED PUBLIC ATTENTION, WHICH OFTEN MEANS PEOPLE COME TO THIS PAGE TO POST THEIR VIEWS ON THE NEWS… WE’VE TEMPORARILY DISABLED THE POSTING OF CONTENT TO THIS PAGE….”
SOME OF THE REVIEWS POSTED BEFORE THE PAGE WAS LOCKED CAN STILL BE SEEN… WITH ONE REVIEW STATING,
“I THOUGHT YOU WERE BIPARTISAN. VERY DISAPPOINTED.”
ANOTHER REVIEWER WROTE:
“THERE WAS SOME SORT OF ORANGE GOO DRIPPED ON OUR FRIES… THE INCOHERENT OLD GUY WORKING THE WINDOW WAS SLURRING HIS WORDS AND REFUSED TO GIVE US OUR CHANGE… HE SAID HE ALREADY GAVE IT TO ME… BUT I COULD SEE IT STICKING OUT OF HIS POCKET.”
AND MANY OTHERS HAD QUIPS LIKE:
“THE FRIES WERE TOO SALTY AS IF SOMEONE WHO LOST A MAJOR ELECTION HAD BEEN CRYING OVER THEM FOR AN HOUR.”
BUT NOT ALL THE REVIEWS WERE NEGATIVE. A HANDFUL OF SUPPORTERS GAVE FIVE-STAR RATINGS, PRAISING THE LOCATION FOR THEIR STELLAR NEW ‘SENIOR HIRE.’ ONE USER EVEN PRAISED THE VISIT, SAYING, “THE BEST MCDONALDS I’VE EVER BEEN TO IN 47 YEARS. THE OLDER EMPLOYEE WAS EXTREMELY NICE. MAKE MCDONALDS GREAT AGAIN! BRING BACK THE DOLLAR MENU!”
A TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON RESPONDED TO THE BACKLASH, SHIFTING BLAME TO VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS AND HER SUPPORTERS, ACCUSING THEM OF TRYING TO “TERRORIZE A FRANCHISEE OWNER OF A GREAT AMERICAN ESTABLISHMENT.”
THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME TRUMP HAS BEEN THE TARGET OF REVIEW BOMBING CAMPAIGNS. HIS HOTEL IN WASHINGTON D.C. RECEIVED SIMILAR TREATMENT IN 2018 AFTER CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS ON IMMIGRATION.
FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES AND STRAIGHT FACTS… DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M KARAH RUCKER.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn moreBias Summary
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