The Fast Food Era of Political Photography

Donald Trump fried fries, Kamala Harris downed Doritos.

Photograph by Doug Mills

“Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.” — H.L. Mencken¹

Presidential campaigns rise and fall on visuals. Remember Brooks Kraft’s photo of Barack Obama campaigning in the rain? Rise.

Photograph by Brooks Kraft

Or Michael Samojeden’s photo of Michael Dukakis in the tank? Fall.

Photograph by Michael Samojeden

As election day approaches, the visual playbook of each candidate has become clear. Donald Trump’s campaign thrives on spectacle—photo ops designed to rally support and trigger outrage, viral moments that generate memes and merchandise.

In contrast, Kamala Harris’s campaign leans on more traditional political tropes—podium speeches, rope-line hugs and handshakes, and waves to and from Air Force Two.

Strong photos have been made of each candidate, so what’s missing? Access. Vulnerability. Consider Dan Habib’s 1992 photo of an exhausted Bill Clinton—a rare, private moment that feels nearly extinct today.

Photograph by Dan Habib

Or Callie Shell’s intimate, unguarded photo of Barack and Michelle Obama on the campaign trail in 2008.

Photograph by Callie Shell

Trump’s “McDonald’s gig” is a prime example of what his campaign does best—part political stunt, part troll.

“I thought it was a throwaway,” Trump explained to Joe Rogan. “I went into the place and did the french fry thing. And it just hit.”

Doug Mills, a staffer for The New York Times, was the pool photographer inside McDonald’s. FoV readers will recall, he was one of the photographers who documented the assassination attempt on Trump back in July. Once again, Mills delivered.

Naturally, the New York Post was Lovin’ It.

Photograph by Doug Mills

Trump’s campaign photographer, Daniel Torok, was shoulder to shoulder with Mills at the fry station, but it was his photo from outside that took off.

Photograph by Daniel Torok

Torok’s photo made it onto a T-shirt that the Trump campaign briefly used as a fundraising tool.

Trump’s McDonald’s moment was so adored by the New York Post that it fronted two days in a row. This version of Trump hustling the drive-thru was taken by Evan Vucci for the Associated Press.

Photograph by Evan Vucci

Vucci also infamously documented the assassination attempt—his future Pulitzer Prize-winning image clearly inspired this $35 T-shirt.

Since we’re on the subject of Vucci’s photo, which is ever-present at Trump rallies and mall kiosks everywhere, this doctored image went viral shortly after the McDonald’s photo op.

Composite image by @BurtMaclin_FBI

X-user @BurtMacklin_FBI told me he created this meta-meme with Bazaart and FaceApp. “I didn’t expect it to get so much traction when I made it,” he said. “The strangest stuff goes viral on this platform.”

Jabin Botsford, yet another photographer who documented the attempt on Trump, made this photo for The Washington Post…

Photograph by Jabin Botsford

…which was clearly the inspiration for The Loneliness of the Fry Man, an oil sketch by J. Elliot that made the rounds.

J. Elliot

The image of a politician dishing out food is nothing new, yet Trump’s McDonald’s stint was all about trolling his opponent.

Photograph by Doug Mills

Trump took his trolling to new heights in Wisconsin yesterday, sporting an orange vest while riding in a Trump-branded garbage truck, a response to a recent gaffe by President Biden. Mills was once again in the mix…the American flag reflected in the windshield is a nice touch.

Photograph by Doug Mills

Down the stretch, the Harris campaign leaned into its own playbook—lots of smiles and lots of hugs, like this one captured by New York Times photographer Erin Schaff.

Photograph by Erin Schaff

This sweet frame by Getty Images photographer Anna Moneymaker is classic Kamala.

Photograph by Anna Moneymaker

Side note: Moneymaker also photographed the assassination attempt, making what I consider one of the most vulnerable images of a politician ever—Trump on the ground, bleeding and surrounded by Secret Service agents in the immediate aftermath. There will be no T-shirts of this.

Photograph by Anna Moneymaker

I’ve noticed a loosening of access in these final days, with Harris allowing photographers closer to capture more behind-the-scenes moments. Like this photo by Schaff from Air Force Two of Harris thanking her team, casually eating some Doritos.

Photograph by Erin Schaff

Schaff also captured this reflective moment backstage before Harris’s pivotal speech on the Ellipse.

Photograph by Erin Schaff

A slightly different mood from that moment was captured by the AP’s Jacquelyn Martin.

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin

Another photo from Harris’s campaign trail that I found interesting was this one by Reuters’ Evelyn Hockstein from a barber shop in Philadelphia.

Photograph by Evelyn Hockstein

It may not seem like it from Hockstein’s photo, but the number of photographers covering the campaigns this year has dwindled. A friend who’s been covering the Harris campaign said they were amazed at how small the press pool is these days. “Twenty years ago you’d have 15 stills shooters alone covering her campaign. The other day it was about 5,” they said. “The magazines, the few that are left, don’t have the money I assume.” They don’t.

Since we’re breaking the fourth (estate) wall, let’s return to Trump’s McDonald’s gig. The New York Times called it a “reality-TV stunt for a reality-TV candidate,” publishing at least seven stories about it, while The Washington Post covered it in at least five. Yet neither used this remarkable photo by Bucks County Herald freelance photographer Sara Pinkus, or anything like it.

Photograph by Sara Pinkus

Pinkus, a retired bank manager who describes herself as a “photo enthusiast,” easily made the most telling image of the day. There will be no T-shirts of this.

1. H.L. Mencken, A Mencken Chrestomathy: His Own Selection of His Choicest Writing (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949), 622.