Although it’s not yet gone hugely viral, there’s a meme of Benito Mussolini harvesting grain in the 1930s as a historical example of Donald Trump’s modern “common man” (or should I say “woman”) propaganda at a closed McDonald’s
. The Mussolini photo is often paired with one of Trump.
The act is historically accurate.
Today’s image of Mussolini is probably not real based on contemporaneous imagery. Note the differences in the sunglasses and cap above*. Bausch and Lomb did not sell aviator glasses to U.S. civilians until 1937
.
In 1938, Italian dictator Mussolini staged a fake photo-op to look like he toiled in the wheat fields.
In 2024, MAGA wanna-be dictator Trump staged a fake photo-op to look like he’s frying fries.
However, unlike Trump’s performance in a closed McDonald’s, Mussolini was actually working and getting dirty as you can see in the clip below.
Obama calls out Trump’s photo op at a closed McDonald’s, while speaking at a rally for Harris in Wisconsin.
Harris “actually worked at McDonald’s when she was in college to pay her expenses. Didn’t just pretend like you worked at McDonald’s when it was closed,” Obama said. pic.twitter.com/ZFQIobc2qh
In a photo from the 1938 propaganda extravaganza, Associated Press writes:
Dictator Benito Mussolini took part in the inauguration of the wheat threshing season in the reclaimed Pontine Marshes. He made a speech to assembled peasants, told them prophecies of very poor harvest were ill-founded and exaggerated, then stripped to the waist, joined in the threshing of the wheat himself. Benito Mussolini, stripped to the waist, addressing an audience at Aprilia, in the Pontine Marshes, Agraromano, Italy, on July 6, 1938. (AP Photo)
On 24 December 1928 Italy’s fascist regime launched “Mussolini’s Law”, a fourteen-yearnational land reclamation programme aimed at turning Italy’s ‘deathinducing’ swamps into fertile agricultural land (Desideri 1981). The Pontine Marhses,a marshland spreading across 75,000 hectares south of Rome was given top priority as an area that should be given over to agricultural production (Sottoriva 1977)…
[In the process] filmmaking became part and parcel of the process of socially constructing an ideal fascist nature… The fascist regime saw the creation of a new physical and social landscape in the Pontine Marshesas, a genuine modernising project… Once the first phase of land reclamation was over, newsreels glorified the perfect fertile landscapes that replaced the marshes…
Another newsreel, shot in the mid 1930s, documents Mussolini himself threshing wheat in the Pontine Marshes alongside local farmers.
Thus Mussolini was reinforcing the benefits of an expensive 10-year program of draining actual swamps. He was dressed for the event.
Donald Trump just can’t stop talking about Kamala Harris working at McDonald’s…
Trump, whose first job as the son of a real estate mogul was investing in real estate, seemingly cannot tolerate this bullet point on Harris’s résumé, and has latched on to right-wing conspiracy theories that it was a lie. The former president has become so obsessed with trying to discredit Harris’s job experience that he told a crowd of his supporters he would try out working at McDonald’s for the day.
Trump didn’t “work” at McDonald’s for an hour, much less a day. He was improperly dressed. From McDonald’s corporate
:
It’s our policy that hats should be worn by all food handlers. Hair must be kept under the hat and away from the face, and styled or tied back so that it is close to the head. Hairnets may be required for hairstyles that do not fit completely under the hat.
Lara Trump admits ex-president’s McDonald’s visit was ‘stunt’ after hairnet complaintshttps://t.co/xRwsDABWjY
And he didn’t work with McDonald’s employees. Or serve real customers.
Breaking: The staff at McDonald’s working alongside Trump are all Secret Service agents.
The restaurant was closed for the day, creating an air of secrecy. It seems the so-called ‘people’s president’ is merely a wealthy individual playing at being an ordinary man.” pic.twitter.com/R0hg3zUHQ5
But he sure as heck generated favorable headlines, as mass media continue to fall for Trump’s propaganda and framing.
Watch: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump manned the fry station at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania on Sunday before staging an impromptu news conference, answering questions from reporters through the drive-thru window. pic.twitter.com/aFPvJ4skUQ
NOTE: If your Google-foo is better than mine, and you find a source for the meme-worthy image of Mussolini, say so in the comments and I’ll edit the post!
St. Coletta’s celebrates 75 years at benefit Nov. 9
Area residents are invited to put on their dancing shoes and join the celebration of St. Coletta’s of Illinois and its 75 years of service to adults and children with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
A Caritas Benefit with a 1950s theme is planned for Nov. 9 at The Odyssey, 19110 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park. The dinner dance includes specialty cocktails, dinner, dancing and live music from a seven-piece band Coax & Folks. Band member Daniel Waddell serves on St. Coletta’s Foundation Board.
“This is not only a celebration of our organization’s past, but a chance to look ahead at the continued impact we can have on our community,” St. Coletta’s CEO Hearth Benedick said in a news release. “We invite everyone to come dressed in their best 1950s attire and join us for a night of nostalgia, fun, and generosity.”
Tickets cost $200 per person or $1,800 for a table of 10. Sponsorships also are available. For tickets or information, visit www.stcolettasofil.org/caritas or call 708-342-5200.
Chicago Ridge library gains $26k grant
The Chicago Ridge Public Library has earned a $26,000 grant from the Illinois secretary of state, thanks to combined state funds, federal Library Services and Technology Act funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“This grant will help support and expand access to the various programs and services that Chicago Ridge PUblic LIbrary officers,” State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said in a news release. “This grant will allow our library to become more accessible to members of the community and to continue promoting literacy and learning for all ages.”
Grants include funding to enhance online catalogs, support day-to-day operations, equip vision-impaired people with narrations of newspaper content and expand interlibrary loan programs.
Metra Electric plans station reopening, one-day closure
The 147th Street/Sibley Boulevard station on the Metra Electric Line in Harvey will reopen to passengers on Oct. 28 after a more than two-year project to rebuild and upgrade the station.
The station now includes an elevator, new covered staircase, a kiss and ride lane, improved pedestrian pathways, bicycle parking, a new platform covered by a canopy and warming shelters.
A ribbon-cutting with elected officials takes place at 10 a.m. Oct. 29 at the station. Thanks to funding from the Regional Transit Authority, Metra also will host Metra Harvest Fest for the community from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 2 in the station’s parking lot. The free event features games, music, food trucks and giveaways.
The $20.8 million project is the first significant upgrade to the station in nearly three decades.
The University Park station on the Metra Electric Line will be closed Oct. 27 because of scheduled track work between University Park and Richton Park.
Riders who normally board trains there should use the Richton Park station instead. Trains will operate to and from Richton Park on their regular Sunday schedule.
Trunk or Treat at Good Shepherd in Palos Heights
Families are invited to Trunk or Treat from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the back parking lot at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 7800 W. McCarthy Road, Palos Heights.
Volunteers will pass out candy and other goodies from decorated trunks, and goodie bags will be given out upon arrival while supplies last. Members of the Palos Heights Police Department will be on hand. The event moves inside if the weather is poor.
Attendees are encouraged to dress up. Allergy-friendly options are available for those with severe food allergies. Information is at 708-448-4170 or www.good-shepherd-church.com.
Oak Forest ends daily parking fees at Metra lots
The Oak Forest City Council recently approved an ordinance to eliminate daily parking fees at its five Metra lots, and it already has taken effect.
In a news release, city administrator Tim Kristin called the city’s collection system “antiquated and costly in both time and resources.” Deteriorating payboxes have been vandalized and burglarized, which leads to police officers responding and public works employees repairing the boxes. It costs about $60,000 to replace 12 payboxes.
It takes police officers at least an hour per day to collect the money and about five hours weekly for counter clerks at City Hall to sort and count the coins and bills.
Given the decrease since the pandemic of people parking at the lots, losing the daily fee will not have a significant impact on the city’s bottom line, Kristin said. It’s hoped that free parking will lead to more commuters and an increase in foot traffic in the Gateway Development area.
Orland Park resident named Comcast regional VP
Grace Hong Duffin was named vice president of external and government affairs for Comcast’s Greater Chicago Region, which includes Illinois, northern Indiana and southwest Michigan.
She will lead the government relations team and the community impact team, which includes franchising activity, compliance, third-party relations and community investment initiatives, including digital equity.
Prior to this post, Duffin spent six years as president and chief executive officer of the Kenneth Young Center, a community nonprofit that provides mental health counseling, treatment and support in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
She has a bachelor’s degree in human development and social policy from Northwestern University, law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. She and her family live in a southwest suburb of Chicago.
Bingo night planned at Frankfort church
St. Peter’s United Church of Christ hosts a BYOB bingo night from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 2 at the church, 12 W. Sauk Trail, Frankfort.
Adults 12 and older are invited to play. Cost is $20 per person and $2 for each additional card; only cash will be accepted. A split-the-pot cash prize will be available. Information is at 815-469-2220.
The leader of the long-running study said that the drugs did not improve mental health in children with gender distress and that the finding might be weaponized by opponents of the care.
Former President Donald Trump will tape an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday, an attempt to reach young male voters who could nudge him to victory.
Republican Bernie Moreno said he would limit himself to two six-year terms if elected to the U.S. Senate, drawing a contrast with three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The Justice Department has warned Elon Musk that he may be violating federal law with his voter lottery.
CNN reported:
The Justice Department warned Elon Musk’s America PAC in recent days that
“He said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had,” Harris remarked. “Donald Trump said that because he does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution,” she said, referring to recent interviews with Trump’s White House chief of staff John Kelly.
“[Trump] wants a military who will be loyal to him personally, one that will obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the Constitution of the United States,” the vice president said.
Harris also spoke about the numerous instances where Trump has commented on fellow Americans being the “enemy within
”—threatening to use the military against his perceived opponents.
“Anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him would qualify in his mind as the enemy within,” Harris explained.
“This is a window into who Donald Trump really is,” Harris said, reminding Americans that multiple former Trump administration officials have publicly spoken ou
t against Trump’s pursuit of a second term in office.
“Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable, and in a second term people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guard rails against his propensities and his actions,” Harris warned. “Those who once tried to stop him from pursuing his worst impulses would no longer be there, and no longer be there to rein him in.”
“So the bottom line is this: We know what Donald Trump wants. He wants unchecked power,” Harris said. “The question in 13 days will be, what do the American people want?”
A Chicago man died Sunday, two days after he was struck by a skid steer at an Illinois Tollway Authority facility in Gurnee, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said.
Gregory Bolls, 39, was struck by the piece of equipment Friday at about 7:30 a.m. at the tollway building, located along Interstate 94 near Grand Avenue.
According to the Illinois State Police, Bolls and another man, neither of whom was a tollway authority employee, were at the site to complete some contracted work. Bolls, the ISP said, walked into the path of the skid steer, which was being operated by the other man.
Bolls was brought to a hospital, and he died Sunday from his injuries, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said.
The state police said the incident remains under investigation.
