CNN's Brian Stelter ripped on social media after calling Trump McDonald's event 'staged'

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Democrats unravel over Trump's McDonald's appearance: 'It's a stunt'

Former President Donald Trump worked at a McDonald's drive-thru in Pennsylvania over the weekend. Fox News' Peter Doocy reports the latest on his 'iconic' appearance and the 'Fox & Friends' co-hosts react.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter lit up social media after he called former President Trump's visit to McDonald's "carefully staged."

Trump cooked and served french fries to customers at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania on Sunday, while accusing his 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, of lying about once working at the fast food restaurant.

Stelter posted about Trump's visit on social media, which drew over two million views and thousands of replies.

"For security reasons, Trump's McDonalds visit was carefully staged ahead of time, with drive-through customers selected and screened by Secret Service, etc," he wrote on X. Stelter's post was in reply to a tweet and photo showing drivers "rehearsing" ahead of the campaign stop.

CNN's Brian Stelter was criticized on social media after he noted that Trump's McDonald's visit was "carefully staged" for security reasons. (Getty Images)

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The majority of comments appeared to criticize the liberal journalist for highlighting the obvious security measures taken for the former president, who has had multiple assassination attempts against him.

"Gee wonder why Secret Service would want to screen people about to get up close to a guy who was shot in the head 2 months ago…" Billy McMorris, contributing editor for The Spectator, wrote.

"Um, yes, that's how it works for presidents and Secret Service protectees especially those who've had two people nearly murder him this year," NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck wrote.

"In other news, the sky is up, and the ground is down. How did CNN survive without you?" replied anti-"woke" movie guide site Worth it or Woke?

Some commenters said the Harris campaign would've done the same, and had "staged" a campaign stop at a Pittsburgh restaurant in August.

"Well, of course, and the Harris campaign would do the same. Your point is . . . ?" journalist Philip Terzian replied.

"Really funny watching Kamala, Inc. complain about a staged McDonald’s event when a few weeks back, they literally kicked patrons outta Primanti Bros. and brought in a few dozen people they’d bussed in for a photo op," Senior Adviser to the House Homeland Security Committee John Cooper wrote.

Donald Trump smiles inside a Pennsylvania McDonald's after working as a fry cook. (Brooke Singman)

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Trump has accused his 2024 opponent of lying about formerly working at McDonald's. Harris, who often references her middle-class upbringing, told MSNBC in an interview last month that she worked at the fast-food joint while studying for her undergraduate degree in the 1980s. 

The Harris campaign told the New York Times that she was "an employee of the McDonald’s on Central Avenue in Alameda, Calif., in 1983 during the summer after her freshman year at Howard University, working the cash register, french-fry station and ice cream machine."

Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams slammed Trump's visit in comments to the press.

"When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie," Sams said to NBC. "He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it."

Former President Trump accused Vice President Harris of lying about once working at McDonald's. (Getty Images/ AP Images)

Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, responded to the scrutiny from the media and Harris campaign on Monday on Fox News' "America's Newsroom."

"The fact that these people are accusing him of a ‘stage-managed’ thing… of course, the president has to have security because there have been two attempts on his life in the last eight weeks. He can't just walk into a McDonald's and sign a W-9 and actually go on the payroll. That's just not how this works, especially given the security threats on his life," he said.

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"But look, he was interacting with people. He was talking to the employees. He was giving people food, and he was just [doing] I think what he does best, which is just being among the people, talking to them about what they care about. He showed genuine interest in the employees and their lives and where they came from and what they were actually doing in their job, and that's something you can't stage, and you can't fake," Vance added.