Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder had himself photographed at the deep fryer during a visit to the German headquarters of McDonald’s – and thereby triggered associations with Donald Trump on the Internet.
Comments from users on the platforms
The photo of the deep fryer reminded many users of an election campaign by the US Republican, in which Trump appeared wearing an apron at the deep fryer of a McDonald’s branch. Some people put the photos of Trump and Söder next to each other as a combination of images in their comments to demonstrate the similarity.
State Chancellery describes comparisons as constructed
A spokeswoman for the Bavarian State Chancellery described such comparisons as “constructed”. Drawing a parallel from Söder to Trump “completely misses the point of this company visit.” The Prime Minister wanted to find out about current challenges in the industry during discussions with employees and management.
Söder, who has been portraying himself as close to the people with his food photos on social networks for years, didn’t miss the opportunity to use the corresponding food blog hashtag in his post on X: “Admit it: #söder also likes to eat fast food.” Just a few months ago, Söder presented himself as a friend of the kebab in a raffle campaign.
What some communication scientists call “gastropopulism” has now even been turned into a free cookbook by the CSU “with 25 gourmet recipes” – “a must-have for fans of Dr. Markus Söder and the CSU,” as the party advertises . Based on initial reactions, it is at least questionable whether the deep fryer photo will make it into a future issue.
