‘I know this menu better than you do’: As challengers campaign in Iowa, Trump patronizes Ohio McDonald’s staff

Former President Donald Trump passing out free campaign merchandise to McDonald’s employees in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Neil Fischer/Twitter)

The first two Republican challengers to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential primary have launched their campaigns.

Nikki Haley, former governor of Florida and Trump administration official, launched her campaign on Feb. 15.

Announcing her run for the White House, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said she doesn’t put up with bullies, a likely jab at Trump, her then-boss.

"When you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels," Haley said.

Then on Tuesday, 37-year-old tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced he too would run for the Republican nomination.

The little-known conservative has been described in a New Yorker profile as "the C.E.O. of Anti-Woke, Inc."

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Sen. Tim Scott is floating a 2024 presidential bid.

Should Scott make his run for the White House official, he’ll be facing off against Haley, who appointed him to the U.S. Senate in 2013 when Sen. Jim DeMint retired.

Political views aside, Scott is a history-maker. He’s the first Black person elected to both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He’s also the first African-American senator from the Southern United States since 1881 and the only current Black senator in the Republican Party. 

His bid might be a hypothetical at this point, but Scott sure isn’t treating it that way. He’s already been to Iowa, the first stop in the Republican primary, calling for "a new American sunrise."

"I see 330 million Americans getting back to celebrating our shared blessings again, tolerating our differences again, and having each other’s backs again," Scott said in a stump speech Wednesday in Des Moines. "We need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down."

While Scott and Haley are already hard at work courting Iowa voters, Trump has been largely absent from the action.

He did make an appearance at a McDonald’s restaurant in East Palestine, Ohio. The town suffered a devastating environmental disaster on Feb. 3, but that wasn’t what was on the former president’s mind.

"I know this menu better than you do," Trump told an employee at the local franchise. "I probably know it better than anybody in here."

Next week, the Republican National Committee is expected to adopt a proposal that seeks to, more or less, rein in Trump.

The proposal would require Republican presidential candidates to sign a pledge of support for the party’s eventual presidential nominee. If not, they won’t be allowed to participate in primary debates. It’s unclear whether Trump will sign the pledge.

That proposal comes on the heels of a Thursday announcement by the RNC that the first 2024 Republican presidential debate is scheduled for August in Milwaukee.

McClellan makes history, Lee launches a run for Feinstein’s seat

History was also made this week in Virginia, where Democrat Jennifer McClellan became the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress after defeating pastor Leon Benjamin. 

The special election followed the November 2022 death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin. He passed shortly after being elected to a fourth term due to complications from colorectal cancer.

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester announced this week his intention to seek a fourth term in 2024. The Montana senator's bid likely comes as a sigh of relief for the Democratic Party, which faces an uphill battle to retain a slim Senate majority in the next presidential election. 

It’s a similar battle for Tester. For the past two years, he’s been the only Democrat elected at the state level. No Republicans have officially launched their primary campaigns yet, but expect this race to be one to watch next fall.

Now that 89-year-old U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has confirmed she’s retiring at the end of the term, California Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff have fresh primary competition.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee formally launched her campaign for the seat in a Tuesday video posted on Twitter. Lee is best known as the sole member of Congress to vote against invading Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.

One of the closest House races in recent history saw Republican incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly hold her Colorado seat against Democrat Adam Frisch by just over 500 votes in 2022.

Now, Frisch wants a rematch. The former Aspen city councillor announced this month his intent to run a second campaign to turn the state’s 3rd Congressional District blue in 2024.

Changes coming to the Democratic primary calendar

While Iowa will serve as the starting point for the Republican primaries, the Democratic National Committee is following calls to shake up the party’s primary calendar.

For decades, the first states on the Democratic primary calendar have been Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Biden didn’t even win his first primary in 2020 until South Carolina before catapulting to victory.

The new calendar would see South Carolina hold the first primary on Feb. 3, 2024. New Hampshire and Nevada would follow on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13, and Michigan on Feb. 27.