Fast Food CEOs Are Blaming the Chaos of the Election for Sales Drops

Apparently, targeting teachers and black kids with ads just isn't cutting it anymore for the big fast food companies.

In this very strange year, with one of the most bizarre elections in modern times in full swing, it would appear that even that great cornerstone of the American diet—fast food—is not immune from political unpredictability.

According to industry magazine Nation's Restaurant News, restaurant executives are blaming this year's shitshow election for a recent dip in fast food sales. More specifically, they cite the potential economic implications of either candidate winning as the driving force behind the drop.

"When a consumer is a little uncertain around their future and really trying to figure out what this election cycle really means to them, they're not as apt to spend as freely as they might have even just a couple of quarters ago," Greg Creed, CEO of Yum! Brands, the company behind Taco Bell and KFC, recently said in a second-quarter conference call according to Nation's Restaurant News.

In August, Wendy's CEO echoed that sentiment. "When a consumer is a little uncertain around their future and really trying to figure out what this election cycle really means to them, they're not as apt to spend as freely as they might have even just a couple of quarters ago," he said.

Which is pretty much what Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, had to say about the matter, one month earlier. "In Starbucks' 24 years of public life," he told analysts. "I can't recall a quarter quite like Q3 of 2016, when a confluence of social and political turmoil at home, weakening consumer confidence, increasing global uncertainty, and the launch of one of our most significant long-term initiatives of all-time all occurred within a single earnings period."

MUNCHIES has reached out to Yum! Brands, Starbucks, and Wendy's for comment, but has not yet received a response from Yum! Brands or Wendy's. A representative from Starbucks responded but said the company had "no further comment to share."

Other recent factors that have been impacting the public's mojo for eating out have been rising prices for sit-down meals, the increasing popularity of food delivery services, and, believe it or not, the dominance of the pizza industry.

With Donald Trump openly embracing fast food because it's so "clean," it's a real wonder why people wouldn't be following the ringing endorsement.