WASHINGTON, DC, United States (AFP) — A sarcastic monument is dumped in Washington; Barack Obama shows off his rapping skills; and a bakery says cookies can predict the election outcome.

Here’s a look at the wild, weird side of the US presidential race over the past week:

Oh, crap

A strange new monument was installed in Washington: a replica of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, with a large, emoji-style turd sitting atop it.

The plaque sarcastically states that it “honours the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls”.

Amid the pro-Trump riot, in which supporters sought to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, some reportedly spread their faeces throughout Congress, with one claiming to have defecated on Pelosi’s desk.

The installation will be removed after a week.

Obama, rapper in chief

Addressing a Kamala Harris rally in Detroit, Michigan, former President Barack Obama seemed to lose himself in the moment.

Introducing rapper Eminem, a long-time Donald Trump critic, Obama recited some of the star’s opening lines from his famous song Lose Yourself.

“I’m nervous, but on the surface I look calm and ready,” Obama rapped to cheers, a grin spreading across his face.

‘MAGADonald’s’

Donald Trump sought to cash in on his publicity stunt at a closed McDonald’s in Pennsylvania in which he donned an apron and served food to pre-selected customers as part of a carefully staged photo opportunity.

His campaign advertised T-shirts with an image of Trump leaning out of a drive-through window and captioned “MAGADonald’s”, a play on his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Suggested donations for the shirt ranged from US$45 to US$1,000, according to New York Magazine, which was part of his array of other fund-raising merch, from Trump Bibles to US$100,000 watches.

Boozing toward victory

If Kamala Harris can relate to the average voter by sipping a beer on national television, as she did earlier this month, so can JD Vance, and he’ll serve them up, too.

Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick stepped behind a bar to serve patrons in Wisconsin ahead of a Green Bay Packers NFL game.

“Go Pack, go Trump,” Vance said, referencing the team’s nickname as he took a swig of beer himself.

Stop the (cookie) count

May the sweetest candidate win.

An Italian bakery outside Detroit is letting Americans vote with their stomachs by buying red-icing cookies to show their support for Trump or blue-icing cookies for Harris.

The gambit has successfully predicted the vote winner in every election since 1984 — except in 2020 when the acerbic Trump won in the world of sweets but lost the Electoral College.

Michigan is considered a must-win swing state. The polls are tight. And at Mannino’s Bakery, Trump is again in the lead.