McDonald’s Franchise That Hosted Trump’s Campaign Stop Beefs Up Security Amid Threatening Phone Calls

The Bucks County, Pennsylvania McDonalds that hosted President Trump for his drive-thru stint on Sunday is reportedly beefing up its security after receiving an influx of threatening phone calls and social media messages. A Bucks County native, Jessica Mihos, walked into her local McDonalds only to find “several armed guards” planted at the fast food joint, she told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We walked in. It seemed fine. We ordered and we sat down, but then we looked to our left, and there were several armed guards just sitting there,” she said. The chairman of Pennsylvania’s delegation at the Republican National Convention, Jim Worthington, who was also one of the organizers of Trump’s fast-food campaign stop, reported that the franchise’s owner, Derek Giacomantonio, kept on the private security details that he had previously hired to protect his employees in the lead-up to Trump’s visit. Mr. Worthington noted, however, that the measure was being taken out of precaution, and that the location had not yet faced any attacks or violence. “There was chatter,” he told the Daily Caller. “There’s been messaging and phone calling and social media where people have made threats and said they are going to do this or that, but nobody has come into the restaurant to make a ruckus.” While Mr. Worthington said that he offered to help Mr. Giacomantonio cover some of the costs of the security, the franchise owner insisted on paying out of his own pocket. “He said, ‘Absolutely not. This is, sadly, a cost of doing business, but I value my employees and my customers so I’m willing to bear that cost,’” Mr. Worthington noted. Others have retaliated against the franchise by flooding its Yelp page with negative reviews — with many commenters directly voicing their dissatisfaction with the location’s decision to host Trump. The platform later chose to temporarily freeze the franchise’s page to ensure that user comments reflect “genuine, firsthand” experiences with businesses, Yelp told CBS. The location became the subject of scrutiny after it heeded Trump’s request to hold a campaign event under its Golden Arches. The 45th president, donning a McDonalds apron, manned the fry station and handed out fast food orders at the drive thru. The franchise — located in a key swing voter region of Pennsylvania — was closed to the public for the duration of his fast food stint. In spite of the negativity, Mr. Worthington maintains that the community as a whole has been “supportive” of Trump’s visit and that many have since showed up “just to patronize the restaurant.” “A lot of people anticipated [a boycott] would happen, because that is typical for some Democratic supporters to do, but [the business] hasn’t been hurt,” he said. Mr. Giacomantonio reportedly declined to provide a comment to the Daily Caller News Foundation, citing that he does not want to do any press.

McDonald’s Franchise That Hosted Trump’s Campaign Stop Beefs Up Security Amid Threatening Phone Calls

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