Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked during their live-streamed event that Donald Trump was responsible for the E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants.
“He always makes up stories,” Walz said, referring to Trump. “Did you notice a lot of people got sick after he worked at McDonald’s? I’m just — I’m not saying, you know, he did it. I just — I’m not saying he does that.”
“That man stuck his hands in the fries, and McDonald’s had E. coli like the next, the next day!” Ocasio-Cortez said.
(Note that the pair made their comments after complaining that Trump “always makes up stories.”)
Infamous germaphobe Donald Trump did his short shift in the McDonald’s in Feasterville, Bucks County, Pa.; the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak was primarily in the West and upper Midwest, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, over the weekend Trump posted on X, “WHEN I’M PRESIDENT THE MCDONALD’S ICE CREAM MACHINES WILL WORK GREAT AGAIN!” This morning, the Wall Street Journal dedicates its journalistic resources to solving the mystery that has bedeviled American fast-food consumers for a long time — and lo and behold, there was a U.S. policy in place that made it more difficult to repair the machines:
A new determination from the Copyright Office could make it cheaper or faster for restaurants to fix broken machines and keep the McFlurrys churning. The McFlurry is soft-serve ice cream with candy or cookies mixed in.
At the core of the issue is the software in the machines, said Meredith Rose, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, a consumer-advocacy group that focuses on technology issues. When one encounters a problem, it is difficult or impossible to figure out what has gone wrong, leaving franchise owners dependent on technicians from the primary manufacturer of the machines, Taylor Commercial Foodservice.
Owners of McDonald’s outlets have said the machines are prone to breaking, and there have been complaints of long wait times for a Taylor technician. McDonald’s has said it was trying to improve maintenance of the machines and train crew members to use them. . . .
Manufacturers often limit who can repair their devices or machines, saying giving out information on how to make those fixes could create safety or privacy risks for users, or leave the proprietary technology at risk of being copied. . . .
The Copyright Office granted a narrow exemption for commercial-food equipment in response to the petition. It went into effect Monday.
America, or at least its McFlurrys, are on the verge of being great again.