Yelp disables reviews for Feasterville McDonald's after Trump's visit triggers comments

After an influx of reviews and comments, Yelp temporarily disabled users' ability to post about the McDonald's in Feasterville, that Donald Trump visited for a campaign appearance.

Noorie Malik, Yelp’s vice president of user operations, confirmed the company's decision in a statement emailed to USA TODAY.

"For Yelp to remain a useful resource to the community, reviews must be based on a genuine, firsthand experience with the business," Malik's statement read.

"Due to the increased public attention we saw after former President Trump visited a McDonald’s in Feasterville, PA on Sunday, Oct. 20, we worked quickly to temporarily disable the posting of content to the page and placed an Unusual Activity Alert on Monday, October 21."

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It is unclear how long Yelp users will be unable to comment on or review the McDonald's in Feasterville.

"When we see the activity dramatically decrease or stop, our moderators will clean up the page so reviews describing only firsthand consumer experiences are reflected.”

Why did Trump visit McDonald's in Feasterville?

The Republican presidential nominee came to Pennsylvania, which is a top swing state, to speak to voters and participate in a drive-thru photo op.

Trump's appearance at the McDonald's in Feasterville consisted of the former president learning to make French fries, handing out fries and McNuggets and voicing displeasure for his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump repeated assertions he's made, without evidence, that Harris has not actually worked at a McDonald's, which the Democratic presidential candidate has touted as an appeal to the working class.

“I’ve now worked (at McDonald’s) for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump said from the drive-thru window, wearing a grill apron over a red necktie and white dress shirt.

In interviews since at least 2019, Harris has said she worked at a McDonald's while in college in the 1980s.

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"I did fries and then I did the cashier," she told an interviewer earlier this year. Asked what she'd order at McDonald's at a drive-thru, she said, "Probably the Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries," she said.

The franchisee of the location, Derek Giacomantonio, addressed the campaign stop to CNBC.

"As a small, independent business owner, it is a fundamental value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community," Giacomantonio told CNBC in a statement Monday. "That's why I accepted former President Trump's request to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald's."

'Make McDonald's Great Again!'

Before Yelp disabled the ability to post about the McDonald's location in Feasterville, more than 145 reviews had already been shared on the platform.

Of the 79 reviews that remained listed as of Wednesday afternoon, 52 gave the restaurant one-star, but 22 comments were left before Oct. 20, 2024). Of the 20 five-star reviews, only one was before the Trump visit.

Almost exclusively reviewers who left comments related to the Trump appearance were from out-of-state.

"Amazing service! Thank you to the fry cook! My fries were fresh and hot! He even fixed the McFlurry machine! 10/10," wrote Cameron C., of California.

"I highly recommend this location. Clean, professional, and customer is the highest priority.The fries here are amazing...they taste great, fried to perfection by one the most competent, most proven fry cooks in decades. Common sense fry policies make the taste great again…," said Steve D. from Florida.

Among the one-star reviewers was Paul V., of Simi Valley, California: "There was some sort of orange goo dripped on our fries. The incoherent old guy working the window was slurring his words and refused to give us our change. He said he already gave it to me, but I could see it sticking out of his pocket.”

Bill N. From Tarpon Springs, Florida wrote the restaurant didn't deserve a single star.

"Warning do not eat at this location. The franchisee is a known cult 45 member only to do a photo op with a convicted felon on premises. What a terrible decision. I hope no-one ever patronizes your establishment ever again. You don't deserve to have a franchise the McDonald's corporation should end its business relationship with you immediately. There is terrible customer service. The fries were not even done as the fryer wasn't up to temperature. The atmosphere was creepy with a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist behind the counter. Yuk. I only wish there was a negative rating."

Removing reviews is not new for Yelp. According to the 2023 Yelp Trust & Safety Report, 112 business pages in the U.S. received an unusual activity alert for incidents related to politics or political figures, resulting in more than 5,000 reviews being removed.

Contributing: Jo Ciavaglia, JD Mullane, Bucks County Courier Times

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yelp reviews disabled for Feasterville McDonald's visited by Trump