Dispel those rumors: Jefferson Hills couple recount meeting Harris and Walz at Moon campaign bus tour

Retired public school teachers and active Democrats Judy and Ed Manfredi of Jefferson Hills said they had a wonderful opportunity to meet Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate this November, when they stopped at the Primanti Bros. restaurant in Moon on Aug. 18.

Just please don’t call them actors.

Online fact-checking and investigative reporting site Snopes learned of rumors that the Democratic running mates’ photo op at the legendary Pittsburgh restaurant was “staged” and involved “paid actors.” A Snopes reporter wrote an Aug. 22 article that misinformation circulated online, including on X, after the end of a day filled with visits at several locations near the airport and in Beaver County.  When Snopes staff did its research, it reported that it has “yet to find any credible evidence of involvement from “paid actors.” 

The Manfredis found out about the Primanti’s stop, part of a campaign bus tour leading up to last week’s Democratic National Convention, by reaching out to some party leaders a few days before the candidates’ announced arrival at Pittsburgh International Airport. Judy is the Jefferson Hills Democratic Committee chair, and both Manfredis serve as Democratic committee members for District 3 in the borough.

“I made some phone calls, and I got lucky,” Judy said. They received an email the day prior, asking them to provide required identification information for a background check. Within 24 hours, they learned where and when to be to meet the candidates and their spouses. Ed said the Harris/Walz campaign representatives handled the invitations.

They had instructions to arrive between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. and park several lots away from the restaurant. Ed said they missed the Trump protesters who were near the front of the building on University Boulevard as they entered through a side door. Both wonder how they knew about where the candidates would stop.

The 30 invited guests ordered food and waited for what came next.

At 5:30 to 6 p.m., all were told to leave the restaurant while Secret Service and local police swept the building. After security wanding and bag checks, Judy said they returned to the restaurant, and those renowned sandwiches and sides came to them in paper boats; the guests ate with plasticware and drank from plastic cups. Judy noted nothing on their tables was glass or metal.

Part of the rumor stemmed, Snopes reported, because staff issued a last call for diners at 3:30 p.m. because of a “private event,” according to Fox News, and it grew from there. To feed it further, “some online articles reporting on the campaign stop still referred to the people seated at restaurant tables, either within their stories or photo captions, simply as “diners,” as if the event were organic. The people attending the private function were dining but the context of their visit constitutes more than such a word.”

Judy said the restaurant just had two rooms — one with a bar and another without. The guests were seated in the latter, and when the motorcade arrived, the media traveling with Harris and Walz entered through the bar, where they were told they could get the best view for photographs and video.

Harris and Walz and their spouses made their way all around the room to greet and speak with everyone, staying for about a half-hour, Judy said. 

Ed said it was a good experience. “I enjoyed talking to [Harris], and I think Tim will be a great vice president,” he said. “I thanked her for running, and she thanked me for working for her.  I told her she was going to do it, and she said, ‘No, we’re going to do it.’ ”

Both found the candidates and their spouses easy to talk to and genuine. When Walz found out the Manfredis were teachers — Judy taught in the South Park School District and Ed mostly in the Brentwood School District — he called a photographer over to take a photo, noting among the three they had logged 85 years of teaching experience.

“It was like you were talking to a good friend or a neighbor,” Judy said. “They were very friendly.”

She said the campaign had obviously ordered food for the candidates and their entourage ahead of time.  It was packed and ready to go as they left Moon and headed to their other stops.