It seems that Donald Trump can't even do a good deed without raising a few eyebrows.
In classic Trump fashion, the former president made headlines this week during a campaign stop at a Pennsylvania grocery store. While there, cameras captured the moment he handed a local mom-of-three $100 toward her groceries.
The grocery stop took place at Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Kittanning, PA, as Trump promised the public that he was going to work to lower supermarket prices if he’s re-elected to the White House in the upcoming presidential election.
In a video shared by his campaign, Trump can be seen approaching a woman checking out at the store and handing her a crisp $100 bill.
“Here, it’s gonna go down a little,” Trump told the woman, referencing the ever-rising prices at the grocery store. “It just went down 100 bucks.”
The woman, clearly amused, laughed with others around her before saying: "Thank you so much."
“We’ll do that for you from the White House, all right?” Trump replied with a grin, hinting at his plans to tackle inflation and lower costs for Americans if he secures a victory in the 2024 election.
Before moving on, Trump couldn’t help but compliment the woman’s children, saying, “Beautiful,” and “Perfecto,” when he realized they were her sons.
After grabbing a large bag of popcorn to go, Trump headed off to a rally in Indiana, PA, later that day.
However, although the video was praised by many people online, many social media users were left asking the same question about whether or not his kind gesture was even legal?
One X user asked: "Isn’t that against the law?"
A second tweeted: "That's another crime he is committing."
Another asked: "Is Trump trying to buy votes?"
Ron Filipkowski, the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.com, even boldly accused Trump of "handing out cash to voters".
Another added: "Trump is literally handing cash out to people so they vote for him. I’m no legal scholar, but I’m pretty sure that’s bribery, and bribery is illegal. Apparently that’s just another crime no one will ever hold him accountable for."
When reporting the story, TMZ even shared section 597 of the US Crime Code, which states that "whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate" could be fined and/or imprisoned for up to two years.
Of course, any backlash Trump could face is all dependent on how one interprets his comment, "We’ll do that for you for the White House, all right?" -- otherwise, it's likely his generous gesture will be seen as just that.
Elsewhere, the mom at the checkout was identified as Jenny Kantz, who later told Fox & Friends that she won't be spending the crisp $100 bill. “I’m gonna frame it,” she revealed.
Speaking of her experience with the former POTUS, Kantz said: "We were hoping for an opportunity to meet him. And the fact that he handed us $100 was a complete surprise and it was a great experience."
Meanwhile, Jenny's husband, Bryant, described Trump as being "very personable".
Let's just hope whoever does with the race to the White House can help the rest of us with our grocery prices.
