As the campaign for the US presidential elections enters the finish line, the candidates are trying in every way to strike at the other.
So Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, "salted" the campaign by selling French fries at the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain in Pennsylvania.
During that time, his opponent from the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris, was in Georgia and wrote on the X network that Trump is "exhausted, unstable and unfit to be the president of the United States."
While Trump was away on a short stint at McDonald's, Kamala Harris celebrated her 60th birthday on Sunday and visited a church near Atlanta, Georgia, where she urged worshipers to vote against the "chaos, fear and hatred" she said she embodies. her Republican rival.
Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk, who is with Trump, has started giving $1 million a day to voters who sign his petition supporting the US Constitution.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said it was "deeply troubling" and that law enforcement should potentially look into the matter.
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"All Trump can do is lie"
Trump visited a McDonald's in Festerville-Trevose, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he learned how to make French fries, dipping the fryer in hot oil and serving meals at the counter to people who drove up to the restaurant.
During his stay, the restaurant inside was closed.
"I love this job," the Republican said, adding that he likes a Big Mac meal and fish sandwiches.
The fact that Trump went to the kitchen of McDonald's and then sold fries seems like a touch of show business in his campaign.
But that's not all.
The former president has repeatedly accused Kamala Harris of lying that she worked at a California branch of a fast food restaurant while going to high school at the same time.
Trump, however, claims that she made it all up, for which he provides no evidence.
While serving French fries, Trump called his opponent "lying Kamal" in a statement to reporters.
"Now I've been working [at McDonald's] 15 minutes longer than Kamala," he said.
Kamala Harris' election headquarters responded that it was Trump's "desperate move" and that "all he knows how to do is lie."
"He can't understand what it's like to have a seasonal job because he's been handed millions on a silver platter," said Ian Sams, a spokesman for Kamala Harris' staff.
Her headquarters say she was working the cash register, ice cream machine and fryer at the McDonald's on Central Avenue in Alameda, California, in the summer of 1983.
McDonald's released a local high school yearbook from 1983, with pictures of several students who worked there at the time.
The BBC spoke to one of the students in the photos, who said he remembered many people who worked with him at the restaurant more than 40 years ago, although he did not remember Kamala Harris being one of them.
The New York Times, however, spoke to a high school friend of Kamala Harris, Wanda Kagan, who said she remembers the current US vice president working at McDonald's around that time.
"The doctor told me that he had never seen someone destroy a test like that," claims Trump
Speaking earlier in Pennsylvania, Trump said he thinks all presidential candidates should undergo cognitive tests, while insisting he is mentally fit to serve.
"I don't have cognitive problems, maybe she does," said the 78-year-old Trump.
He said that everyone who wants to run for president should pass such tests, not just because of age.
“I'm not 80 years old. In the case of Biden, he's 81 or 82 and, you know, that's fine."
Trump continued: “There have been some of the greatest statesmen in the history of the world who are in their 80s. I did the cognitive tests twice and I beat them both. A doctor once told me, "I've never seen anyone 'break up' like that."
Kamala Harris's staff has repeatedly questioned Trump's sanity and criticized him for refusing to release his medical records.
Why does Mask share money?
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he will give away $5 million a day to registered voters in key US states until the November XNUMX US presidential election.
The winner is chosen at random from among those who sign a constitutional petition launched by Musk's campaign group AmerikaPAK.
Musk founded this group to support Trump's efforts to return to the White House.
He has donated $75 million so far to the group, which has quickly become a central player in Trump's campaign.
"AmerikaPAK was created with the goal of supporting core values such as secure borders and cities, rational spending, a fair justice system, freedom of speech and the right to self-defense," the group's website states.
The billionaire said he wants to get "more than a million, maybe two million voters in swing states to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments."
On Sunday during the election campaign, Trump said that he did not follow Musk's move, adding that he often talks to him and that he is his "friend".
The winners are chosen like a lottery.
The first million dollar check was presented to a surprise attendee at a town hall event in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.
Another check was delivered on Sunday.
Musk in Pennsylvania is giving $100 to voters to sign the petition, plus $100 for each person they direct to sign.
Voters in other swing states get $47 per referral.
Democrats: "It's deeply troubling"
In the United States, it is illegal to give people money to encourage them to vote in the first place.
For Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who supports Kamala Harris, Musk's strategy is "deeply troubling."
He told NBC News that law enforcement should potentially monitor Musk's payments.
Rick Hazen, an election law expert, wrote on his election law blog that the offer was "clearly illegal."
Anyone who "pays, offers to pay, or accepts payment to vote or register to vote," faces a potential fine of $10.000 or five years in prison, according to federal law.
Although Musk is technically asking voters to sign the form, Haynes questions the intent of the petition.
"Who can sign the petition? Only registered voters in swing states, which makes them illegal," the professor adds.
Anyone who signs a constitutional petition pledging to support free speech and gun rights must provide personal information, potentially allowing the AmerikaPAK group to subpoena them in connection with the election.
The BBC has also sent a request for comment to Elon Musk and the AmerikaPAK group.
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