For several weeks, former President Donald Trump has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of lying about her past work experience at McDonald’s. Trump, a known fan of the fast-food chain, took to Truth Social to express his skepticism, writing, “SHE NEVER WORKED THERE, they think she’s ‘nuts.'” He repeated the claim during a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity.
However, a report from The Daily Beast on Thursday confirmed that Harris did, in fact, work at a McDonald’s franchise in Alameda, California, during the summer of 1983. Harris, who was attending Howard University at the time, worked at the fast-food chain between her freshman and sophomore years. Although she hadn’t previously discussed her time there, she mentioned it publicly for the first time while marching on a McDonald’s worker picket line in 2019.
“She worked the register and manned the fry and ice cream machines,” said a campaign official. Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager for Harris, emphasized that her middle-class roots and experience in food service give her a better understanding of everyday Americans compared to Trump.
“It’s a stark contrast to Donald Trump, who wants to explode costs on the middle class while handing out tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations — and that split screen will be on full display through Nov. 5,” Fulks told The Daily Beast.
The report underscored that while Harris seems to understand the experience of working at McDonald’s, Trump merely “knows the food.” On The Drew Barrymore Show, Harris shared her go-to order: a quarter-pounder with cheese and fries. In contrast, the report recalled Trump’s order, as described by former campaign strategist Corey Lewandowski, which included “two Big Macs, two Filet-o-Fish, and a chocolate shake.”
Jared Kushner later clarified Trump’s usual meal as one Big Mac, one Filet-o-Fish, fries, and a vanilla shake. As the 2024 election approaches, the differences between the two candidates’ upbringings and understanding of the middle class are becoming more apparent, fueling debates on the campaign trail.