Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim that she worked at McDonald’s while she was a student has been questioned by her opponents (Pictures: Getty Images)
One of ex-President Donald Trump’s latest attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris centers around her claim that she once worked at McDonald’s.
The Democratic nominee and her campaign have been saying that she had a summer job in the 1980s at the American fast food chain that is arguably the most popular of its kind in the world.
Recognizing the appeal of McDonald’s to customers preparing to vote in the presidential election, Trump – who is known to be a fan of the chain – has been accusing Harris of lying on the matter.
That has created a back-and-forth and raised more questions around whether Harris was really employed briefly with the Golden Arches.
President Donald Trump is known to be a fan of McDonald’s (Picture: Getty Images)
What has Harris said about working at McDonald’s
A whole election cycle ago, in June 2019, Harris at a picket line with fast food employees told the Las Vegas crowd: ‘I worked in McDonald’s. I was student when I was working at McDonald’s.’
She shared a video of her remarks and wrote on X (formerly Twitter), that she was ‘doing french fries and ice cream’.
Fast-forward to the 2024 race, Harris’ campaign unveiled an August 10 ad stating that ‘she worked at McDonald’s while she got her degree’ at Howard University, and that ‘Kamala Harris knows what it’s like to be middle class… Donald Trump has no plan to help the middle class, just more tax cuts for billionaires.’
And on August 31, Harris described herself on X as ‘a daughter of Oakland, California, who was raised by a working mother and had a summer job at McDonald’s’.
Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that she is ‘a daughter of Oakland, California, who was raised by a working mother and had a summer job at McDonald’s’. (Picture: X/@KamalaHarris)
What has Trump said about Harris’ McDonald’s claim?
Hours later, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘Comrade Kamala Harris lied about working at McDonalds. SHE NEVER WORKED THERE, they think she’s “nuts.”‘
Trump first accused Harris of lying about it during his remarks at the Moms for Liberty convention on August 30. He told the crowd in Washington: ‘After an exhaustive study that took about 20 minutes, they found out she never worked there.’
He has continued to drill at the topic, posting on September 1 an image illustration of Harris in a McDonald’s kitchen, wearing a Golden Arches hat and with French fries, a burger and coke in the foreground.
‘Kamala said she worked at McDonalds — She never did. Lie!’ alleged the Republican nominee.
Ex-President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘Kamala said she worked at McDonalds — She never did. Lie!’ (Picture: Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)
What has McDonald’s said about Harris?
A Facebook post on August 31 that was a screengrab of a Truth Social post showed a picture of Harris next to a McDonald’s sign and stated: ‘McDONALD’s CORPORATE has come forth and said they have no record whatsoever of KAMALA HARRIS ever working at any of their locations.
‘TRUTH – WHEN EVEN McDONALD’S WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU, IT’S TIME TO THROW IN THE TOWEL!’
Two days prior, Students for Trump chairman Ryan Fournier claimed on X that ‘McDonald’s Corporate sources have come forth and said they have no record of Kamala Harris working at any of their locations.’
Despite those posts getting shared tens of thousands of times, McDonald’s has not come out with any statement confirming or denying that Harris worked for the company, USA Today reported.
A Facebook post claimed that McDonald’s stated it had ‘no record whatsoever’ of Vice President Kamala Harris having worked for the company (Picture: Facebook/@Str8alk)
Did Harris really work at McDonald’s?
On August 29, the conservative news outlet Washington Free Beacon reported that McDonald’s was not listed on Harris’ resume the year after she graduated from college, and that the job was not mentioned by her biographers.
A fact check by Snopes rated Harris’ claim that she worked at McDonald’s: ‘Unproven.’
‘Harris has made this claim repeatedly over the years, and multiple reputable news outlets have reported on the story,’ stated Snopes.
‘But, aside from Harris’ testimony itself, there is no evidence (such as a photo, employment record or confirmation from a friend or family member) to independently verify the claim.’
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