An E. coli outbreak followed former President Donald Trump’s campaign stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
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Donald Trump campaigned at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, but the chain’s E. coli outbreak came first
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People started getting sick Sept. 27 from an E. coli outbreak connected to onions served at McDonald’s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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No one has been sickened by the outbreak since Oct. 16, which was four days before former President Donald Trump’s Oct. 20 campaign visit to a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
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No known cases of E. coli were reported in Pennsylvania.
Former President Donald Trump briefly helmed a french fry station Oct. 20 at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s — a jab at his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Trump has said without evidence lied about working at the fast food franchise.
But a recent Threads post said the publicity stunt backfired.
"He ‘worked’ 1 hour at a closed McDonald’s and now there’s an E. Coli outbreak," the Oct. 26 post said. "Everything he touches dies."
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
Trump made a campaign stop at the McDonald’s, which was closed to the public during the event, though he gave out paper bags to prescreened people in the drive-thru, The Washington Post reported.
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And people have recently been sickened by an E. coli outbreak linked to onions served on Quarter Pounders and other McDonald’s menu items, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the Threads post gets the timeline wrong.
The latest CDC information shows that as of Oct. 30, 90 people got sick from this outbreak, though the number is likely higher — it usually takes up to a month to determine if a sick person is connected to an outbreak, the agency said on its website.
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The first person got sick Sept. 27. Another Sept. 29. Ten more on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The number of sick people peaked Oct. 3 and 4. The last reported case is from Oct. 16.
That’s four days before Trump’s fry gig.
None of those people got sick in Pennsylvania, either, though the CDC said the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. Montana and Colorado were the states with the most cases, followed by Utah, Nebraska and Missouri.
We rate claims an E. coli outbreak happened at McDonald’s after Trump campaigned there False.
Our Sources
Threads post, Oct. 26, 2024
ABC News, Number of people sickened in E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders rises to 90: CDC, Oct. 30, 2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, When People Got Sick: E. coli Outbreak, Onions Served at McDonald's - October 30, 2024, Oct. 30, 2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E. coli Outbreak Linked to Onions Served at McDonald’s, Oct. 30, 2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Where People Got Sick: E. coli Outbreak, Onions Served at McDonald's - October 30, 2024, Oct. 30, 2024
PolitiFact, Denied free fries? No, Trump didn’t dupe McDonald’s customers out of a free meal, Oct. 22, 2024
PolitiFact, No, Kamala Harris’ campaign didn’t edit an image to show her in a McDonald’s uniform, Oct. 29, 2024
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Donald Trump campaigned at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, but the chain’s E. coli outbreak came first
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