'Vindictive': Democrat in tight Senate race blasted by GOP rival for swipe at McDonald's after Trump visit

A trio of Senate Democrats - Casey, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden - on Monday issued a letter to the CEO of McDonald's, castigating the company for reported price gouging, just one day after Trump worked the fryer at a franchise of the fast-food chain during a campaign event in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. 

"After President Trump's wildly popular visit to the local Feasterville McDonald's franchise, Bob Casey has stooped to a new low by retaliating against McDonald's. This is just the latest in a string of anti-business attacks by Casey on Pennsylvania small businesses and employees. Casey is a liberal, partisan, career politician who knows his family dynasty is coming to an end, so he resorts to a vindictive pressure tactic, simply because he doesn't like Donald Trump," McCormick told Fox News Digital. 

The senators' letter, which did not cite Trump, was sent one day after the former president's visit to a McDonald's in Casey's home state of Pennsylvania on Sunday. 

Casey's campaign on Wednesday brushed off McCormick's comment, arguing the longtime Democratic senator "will always fight against corporate greed."

"While Connecticut hedge fund CEO David McCormick works to enrich himself and his billionaire backers, Sen. Casey will always fight against corporate greed to put more money in Pennsylvanians' pockets," Casey campaign spokesperson Kate Smart told Fox Digital. 

The letter called on the McDonald's CEO to address questions such as how the company makes pricing decisions on individual menu items, if McDonald's provides guidelines to franchisees regarding pricing decisions and if McDonald's executives received bonuses or other incentive-based compensation between 2020 and 2024. 

"McDonald's and our franchisees are committed to keeping prices affordable - from the everyday prices on our menu boards, to our popular $5 Meal Deal and other offers available locally or on the App. This letter demonstrates a lack of understanding of our franchise business model and contains contortions of facts and many inaccuracies. Take the components of the $5 Meal Deal with McChicken, for example - which would have cost 15% more in 2020 than they do today. That's the opposite of price gouging. We will respond to the letter, and in the meantime, continue to show up for our customers and our communities," McDonald's told Fox News Digital in a comment Tuesday. 

"The corporations say your prices are up only because their costs are up," Casey declared at the Democratic National Convention over the summer. "They are selling you a lie. It's in the bag with the diapers. Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive them up."

Nearly all McDonald's locations in the U.S. are individually owned franchises, including the one Trump visited on Sunday. 

"I've now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala at McDonald's," Trump said through the drive-thru window as he handed out orders. 

"I love McDonald's, I love jobs, I like to see good jobs. And I think it's inappropriate when somebody puts down all over the place that she [Harris] worked at McDonald's. It was a big part of her résumé that she worked at McDonald's," he added. 

The McDonald's that Trump visited is owned by Derek Giacomantonio, who told Fox Digital on Sunday that the franchise opens "our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community."  

"As a small, independent business owner, it is a fundamental value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community. That's why I accepted former President Trump's request to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald's," Giacomantonio said. 

"As a former crew member, I can attest this job is more than burgers and fries, but a meaningful pathway to opportunity. Local Pennsylvania franchisees like me are proud to provide more than 25,000 jobs across the state and I'm honored to showcase my restaurant and the incredible impact of the franchise business model here today," Giacomantonio continued. 

"You've got Donald Trump putting on a little McDonald's costume, because he thinks that's what people do," Ocasio-Cortez said during a "Get Out the Early Vote" union event in Pennsylvania. "They're not trying to empathize with us. They are making fun of us."