From mosquitoes to McDonald’s, quirky moments dominate US politics

Kamala Harris washing her vegetables in the bathtub, Donald Trump drawing a political link to a mosquito, and McDonald's summer jobs coming under scrutiny.

Here are some offbeat highlights from the US campaign trail this week.

  Biting back 

 Mosquitos and politicians don't have much in common, but Donald Trump still managed to make the unlikely link when one of the insects bothered him at his town hall event in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

"We don't like those mosquitoes running around," Trump said. "We want nothing to do with them -- and we want nothing to do with bad politicians that hate our country, too."

  McDonald's beef  

McDonald's became an unlikely new battleground as Team Trump demanded evidence to prove Harris's claim that she had worked at the popular fast-food chain while in college.

Harris's team said she worked on the fry and ice cream machines at a branch in California, according to reports.

But Trump spokesman Steven Cheung demanded evidence. "Why won't they just provide real documentation and proof?" he told US outlet The Daily Beast.

  Melania's memoir  

Donald Trump's wife Melania made a dramatic pitch this week for her new self-titled memoir, with a signed collector's edition -- printed on "premium art paper" -- priced at $150, though a standard hardcover is $30 on Amazon.

Melania advertised the book in a black-and-white video shared on social media this week, captioned "My Story. My Perspective. The Truth." It will be published in October.

 Kitchen table issues  

Kamala Harris gave a glimpse into her culinary habits, telling how she once washed vegetables in a bathtub ahead of a friend's Christmas Eve party.

"And I am not lying to you, that I would make so many greens, that I'd need to wash them in the bathtub. I'm telling you the truth," Harris said in a video shared on the weekend.

  Awkward handshake  

It's happened to all of us, but J.D. Vance was teased when a clip resurfaced of him handshaking a woman's attempted fist bump greeting at a union picket line in Ohio last year -- before he was picked as Trump's running mate.

Still struggling to shake the "weird" label pinned on him by Democrats, his apparent lack of social skills was mocked by late night news host Stephen Colbert this week.