Politics
The unexpected political relevance of McDonald’s McFlurry machines

There have been a handful of surprises in the 2024 presidential election, but among the strangest is just how frequently we’ve ended up talking about McDonald’s.
Donald Trump, for example, spent much of the race obsessing over Kamala Harris having worked at a McDonald’s when she was a student. The former president also held a weird p.r. stunt at a franchise in Pennsylvania. At one point a couple of weeks ago, the Republican even claimed that McDonald’s had confirmed his unproven claims about the Democratic vice president, but like so many of his other claims, this wasn’t true.
But in case this weren’t quite enough, the McDonald’s/election nexus added another unexpected data point this week.
This past weekend, Trump used his social media platform to present the public with a campaign promise he hasn’t made before. “WHEN I’M PRESIDENT THE MCDONALD’S ICE CREAM MACHINES WILL WORK GREAT AGAIN!” the GOP candidate wrote.
As it turns out, the Biden administration had beaten him to it. As Mother Jones reported, it was Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, who actually did what the Republican said he’d do.
The day before Trump’s proclamation, the United States Copyright Office announced a new copyright exemption that will grant some small business owners and franchisees — such as those operating the 13,000 McDonald’s in the United States — the ‘right to repair’ the machinery within their own shops. Back in March, the FTC submitted a comment to the US Copyright Office asking to extend the right to repair certain equipment, including commercial soft-serve equipment.
McDonald’s has long been the subject of jokes because their restaurants’ ice cream machines — which make McFlurries, among other things — have a reputation for not working. The reason why is a little complicated.
To summarize briefly, the machines were made by the Taylor Company, and under existing law, only licensed Taylor Company technicians could repair them without voiding the warranty. The result was a lot of broken machines at franchises across the country.
As NBC News’ “Today” explained this week, the United States Copyright Office has now “granted a copyright exemption that gives restaurants like McDonald’s the ‘right to repair’ broken machines by circumventing digital locks that prevent them from being fixed by anyone other than its manufacturer.”
The policy took effect on Monday.
The larger pattern, meanwhile, is worth appreciating as President Joe Biden prepares to retire.
Trump tried to deliver an infrastructure package, while Biden succeeded on the issue.
Trump tried to advance legislation to address gun violence, while Biden succeeded on the issue.
Trump said he’d use Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, while Biden succeeded on the issue.
Trump said he knew how to negotiate a series of bipartisan deals, while Biden succeeded in doing so.
Trump tried to deliver record job growth, while Biden succeeded on the issue.
And Trump announced plans to make sure McDonald’s ice cream machines work again, while the Biden administration actually made it happen.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
Politics
Anti-Trump protesters turn out to rallies in New York, Washington and other cities across country
NEW YORK — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.
The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration marking the start of the American Revolutionary War 250 years ago. In San Francisco, protesters formed a human banner reading “Impeach & Remove” on the sands of Ocean Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Thomas Bassford was among those who joined demonstrators at the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord outside of Boston. “The shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775, heralded the start of the nation’s war for independence from Britain.
The 80-year-old retired mason from Maine said he believed Americans today are under attack from their own government and need to stand up against it.
“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” Bassford said, as he attended the event with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
Elsewhere, protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal government. Others organized more community-service events, such as food drives, teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters.
The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide protests against the Trump administration drew thousands to the streets across the country.
Organizers say they’re protesting what they call Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shutter entire agencies.
Some of the events drew on the spirit of the American Revolutionary War, calling for “no kings” and resistance to tyranny.
Boston resident George Bryant, who was among those protesting in Concord, Massachusetts, said he was concerned Trump was creating a “police state” in America as he held up a sign saying, “Trump fascist regime must go now!”
“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” Bryant said. “This is fascism.”
In Washington, Bob Fasick said he came out to the rally by the White House out of concern about threats to constitutionally protected due process rights, as well as Social Security and other federal safety-net programs.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
“I cannot sit still knowing that if I don’t do anything and everybody doesn’t do something to change this, that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children, for our neighbors is simply not one that I would want to live,” said the 76-year-old retired federal employee from Springfield, Virginia.
In Columbia, South Carolina, several hundred people protested at the statehouse. They held signs that said “Fight Fiercely, Harvard, Fight” and “Save SSA,” in reference to the Social Security Administration.
And in Manhattan, protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Public Library north towards Central Park past Trump Tower.
“No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” they chanted to the steady beat of drums, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Marshall Green, who was among the protesters, said he was most concerned that Trump has invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 by claiming the country is at war with Venezuelan gangs linked to the South American nation’s government.
“Congress should be stepping up and saying no, we are not at war. You cannot use that,” said the 61-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey. “You cannot deport people without due process, and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what.”
Meanwhile Melinda Charles, of Connecticut, said she worried about Trump’s “executive overreach,” citing clashes with the federal courts to Harvard University and other elite colleges.
“We’re supposed to have three equal branches of government and to have the executive branch become so strong,” she said. “I mean, it’s just unbelievable.”
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