The former president’s brief shift at the iconic fast food chain exploded on social media on Sunday, which showed him shoveling fries into cartons while passing out orders to customers in the drive-thru window. Some outlets have accused Trump’s visit to McDonald’s being “staged,” prompting Vance, Trump’s 2024 running mate, to state that the former president “really did win the news day.”

“And 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,” Vance said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “He can’t just walk into a McDonalds 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. But look, he was interacting with people. He was talking to the employees. He was giving people food, and he was just being, I think, what he does best, which is just being among the people, talking to them about what they care about. He showed, I think, 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.”

The Ohio senator then questioned why the press is critical over Trump’s visit to McDonald’s while not expressing the same curiosity over Harris’s claims she once worked at the fast food chain, as she has produced “no evidence” of her employment. He called on the press to “do some journalism” and get to the bottom of her claims to see if they are valid or not.

Vance also pointed to how some Democratic senators seeking reelection next month, including Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), are trying to connect themselves to Trump while distancing from President Joe Biden. Vance noted how these candidates have not made any ads connecting themselves to Harris and indicated this is why she will lose her presidential bid against Trump next month. 

The former president had a viral weekend on social media thanks to his McDonald’s shift, which also featured him attending Sunday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets. On Saturday, Trump’s TikTok account uploaded a video featuring him alongside wrestling champions Kane and The Undertaker, who encouraged viewers to support Trump ahead of “Electionmania” on Nov. 5.

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Trump’s visit to McDonald’s was shared by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on X, who wrote “yes” as he answered a question asking if Trump’s visit to McDonald’s was “the greatest campaign move of the 2024 election.” Political commentator Ben Shapiro also shared a photo of Trump working the drive-thru, joking that Trump was telling customers about how he stopped the Hamburglar, a retired mascot for the fast-food chain.

Answer: Yes https://t.co/qe5g9xJW20

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 21, 2024

“And that’s how I stopped crime. The Hamburgler. Bad, rough guy. Died like a dog.” pic.twitter.com/BTWgI27CXY

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 21, 2024

While Trump enjoyed most of the spotlight from social media over the weekend, Vance had his own moment shared by social media users when he amplified a rally attendee shouting, “Jesus is king,” prompting him to stop his speech and state, “That’s right, Jesus is king.” His statement received widespread applause from his audience.