California Treasurer and current candidate for Governor John Chiang surprised election watchers by taking to tweeter to shill for McDonald’s:
You really can’t beat a @McDonalds cheeseburger and fries. This is at the original McDonalds in San Bernardino, CA!#NationalCheeseburgerDay pic.twitter.com/WEd5OZjY9a
— John Chiang (@JohnChiangCA) September 18, 2017
The fast food chain is often criticized by progressives for serving unhealthy food and contributing to child obesity and diabetes, for exploiting workers and paying them far below a living wage, and for resisting attempts to unionize its workforce.
Chiang’s photo-montage tweet was further surprising as it showed him holding a cheeseburger in front of the original McDonald’s in San Bernardino, which is now a museum:
They don’t serve food there anymore- did you bring this with you to get this random shot? Seems weird
— K b (@lawyerkat) September 19, 2017
Weird indeed. The visit to the “original McDonald’s” was also touted on Chiang’s campaign website, though there is no word as to where he actually bought the burger in the photo.
But why would a Democratic candidate for Governor of California take time from his campaign to shill for a fast food chain? A look at Chiang’s donor list may hold the answer.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Chiang’s third largest contributors are C.C. and Regina Yin, who together have given Chiang almost $100,000. Moreover, the couple has hosted high-value fundraisers for Chiang that likely netted him tens if not hundreds of thousands dollars more. The Yins own dozens of McDonald’s restaurants in California.
This is not the first time that John Chiang does favors for his campaign donors. Last August, the Sacramento Bee reported that Chiang granted millions of dollars in tax breaks to developers who had donated to his campaign.
The one and only McDonald`s!