Time is ticking until Election Day, and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are working to get voters to the polls.
Here are some of those viral moments from the week:
Trump serves fries at McDonald’s
The former president dished out french fries at a McDonald’s franchise location in Pennsylvania over the weekend. At the staged event, Trump donned an apron and worked as a fry attendant, handing food out of a drive-thru, which was temporarily closed for the campaign stop.
The event stirred considerable discussion online. A video of the visit posted by Trump’s TikTok account has garnered over 41 million views and more than 4.6 million likes.
The caption of the video stated, “I’ve officially worked longer at McDonald’s than Kamala.” Harris has noted that she briefly worked at the chain as a student at Howard University in Washington, DC during the summer of 1983. “I’m having a lot of fun here everybody,” Trump exclaimed while handing out food from the drive-thru window.
The stop also provided material for late night shows. “The Daily Show” posted a clip on TikTok that racked up 3.5 million views, with host John Stewart poking fun at the former president.
Watch Trump’s McDonald’s moment below:
Coach Walz goes for a run
The Harris campaign has leveraged social media to highlight key aspects of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s biography.
“Coach Walz here. Their game plan is titled Project 2025,” Walz announces in a TikTok video that has received over 1 million views and numerous likes.
In the video, Walz stands beside a whiteboard, illustrating plays and employing football jargon to emphasize the importance of voting to “play defense” against the 920-page document that Democrats warn could be enacted if Trump is elected, despite the former president’s attempts to distance himself from its content.
Walz also took his message on the road, engaging with social media influencer Kate Mackz while jogging. Walz joined Mackz, known for conducting interviews with runners, on a four-mile run in New York City’s Central Park on Monday. During the run, he encouraged the young audience watching the TikTok video — which has received over 3.8 million views — to “get out and vote,” no matter their political preferences.
From TikTok itself
While scrolling through their feed, some TikTok users might encounter an ad from the platform featuring its Election Center. The ad, with over 23,000 likes, informs users on finding the Election Center within the app, which offers details like voting dates and registration checks.
Lawmakers have intensified their scrutiny of TikTok this election year. President Joe Biden signed a bill into law in April that could potentially ban TikTok in the United States or force its sale, citing concerns over national security due to the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, being headquartered in Beijing.
Evidence of election influence on the platform has already emerged. In September, TikTok announced it removed accounts linked to two Russian media groups that were attempting to exert what it described as “covert influence” on the upcoming election.