21 years later, this dude still calls them ‘Freedom Fries’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq during the ongoing Global War on Terror is right around the corner. And, while the Iraq war may be a distant memory for many Americans, especially with more modern conflicts in the news to be upset about, one die hard patriot is holding firm to his “pro-America, screw everyone else” mentality by still referring to French fries as Freedom Fries.

Patrick McGonagle, 78, said he’s never forgiven the French’s “cowardice and lack of support for America” during the battle of Iraq and never plans to give credit to those “slimy frog bastards” for “anything other than raising the white flag of surrender and hating democracy.”

“The world changed on 9-11 and the whole world was there to support America, the greatest country in the world, and our plot for revenge against those savage sand people,” said McGonagle. “Everyone except the French. I don’t care if it’s been two decades since that war began or if they did end up sending troops to help us liberate those poor souls living the desert. These colors don’t run.”

The term Freedom Fries began in the spring of 2003 after U.S. President George W. Bush declared war in Iraq following the 9-11 terror attacks. The then-president was looking to create a global coalition against Al-Qaeda, the masterminds behind the deadliest attacks on U.S. soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. So, he went to the United Nations to propose an invasion, to which France objected.

Although both Russia and China also objected to the invasion, neither of them threatened to use their veto power to stop the U.S. and its coalition from initiating the attack against Saddam Hussein and his military. This meant that, for most Americans, France was the sole barrier standing between the United States and its bloodlust for Iraq’s cache of weapons of mass destructions (and possibly some oil).

As a form of protest, Beaufort, North Carolina restaurant owner Neal Rowand opted to rename the popular potato side dish from French fries to Freedom Fries and even went as far as patenting the name for himself. He cited similar practices during World War II, when Americans renamed sauerkraut, “liberty cabbage” and frankfurters “liberty dogs”, as his inspiration for the infamous name change.

“Since the French are backing down [from the war], French fries and French everything needs to be banned,” said Rowand at the time. News of the rebrand struck a chord with many Americans who were still reeling from the terror attacks and the use of the new term quickly became widespread across the country. It became so popular, in fact, that a week before the U.S. began its invasion of the Middle East nation, the U.S. House of Representatives officially began serving Freedom Fries in their cafeteria.

While some Americans viewed this name change as a massive slap in the face to their NATO allies, the French never seemed too concerned, namely because they don’t actually call them “French Fries” in France and the dish originated in Belgium, not France. The French Embassy spokeswoman at the time said, “it’s exactly a non-issue … we focus on the serious issues. [We are] in a very serious moment dealing with some very serious issues, and we are not focusing on the name [Americans] give potatoes.”

The hype around Freedom Fries faded faster than eating Tide pods for TikTok clout. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, 66% of Americans thought the change was silly while only 33% thought it was patriotic. However, only 15% of people polled actually considered using the term in a non-sarcastic way and 80% were still going to call them French fries.

It’s now been 19 years since that poll was taken and the number of people who seriously consider using the term Freedom fries has dropped to less than 1%, according to our own Alpine 6 Action News poll. Of the nearly 10,000 people we interviewed, the only person who said he would still use the term Freedom fries seriously was McGonagle.

“I don’t give a shit what other people think,” he said, munching down a large Freedom fry from McDonalds. “Once you lose my trust it’s almost impossible to earn it back. The French abused my trust and I’m not going to give way to public opinion just because they’re our allies and have stood side-by-side with us through the Global War on Terror. If they want me to start saying French fries again, they better do something for me. Like send me some nice wine or cheese, or something.”

The French embassy has not returned our request for comment.

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