McDonald’s has addressed the lack of records supporting Vice President Kamala Harris‘ claim that she worked at one of its restaurants in the 1980s.
In a memo emailed to McDonald’s USA franchisees, the corporation acknowledged that while Harris has shared “fond memories” of working at a location in Alameda County, “we and our franchisees don’t have records for all positions dating back to the early ’80s.”
According to the Daily Mail, a copy of the internal memo was posted on social media by an anonymous McDonald’s franchisee and was later confirmed by The Wall Street Journal.
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Harris first mentioned her McDonald’s experience in 2019 during a rally with fast food workers, stating that she worked there while in college. She reiterated this claim in an April 2024 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she said she “did fries” at the restaurant.
The Harris campaign maintains that she worked at the Central Avenue McDonald’s in Alameda, California, during the summer of 1983 after her freshman year at Howard University. However, the campaign has not provided evidence, such as a photo, pay stub, or confirmation from a former coworker, to verify the claim.
Employees at the Alameda franchise told The Telegraph they were instructed not to speak to reporters about Harris. When contacted by the Daily Mail, one employee responded, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any information.”
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Harris did not publicly mention working at McDonald’s until her 2019 presidential run, when she joined fast food workers protesting for a higher minimum wage. According to the Washington Free Beacon, Harris’ post-college resume does not list any job at McDonald’s.
The Harris campaign has cited her alleged McDonald’s job to emphasize her working-class background. “You have a vice president who always thought of the middle class. When she was in college, she had a job at McDonald’s while getting her degree,” said Deputy Communications Director Brooke Goren at a Democratic National Committee event in June. Another staffer referred to Harris’ journey from McDonald’s to the vice presidency as “the incarnation of the American dream.”
Former President Donald Trump, however, has cast doubt on Harris’ claim. During a visit to a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Trump donned an apron, made fries, and served customers at the drive-thru, joking, “I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala at McDonald’s.”
The McDonald’s memo emphasized that the company “does not endorse candidates for elected office” but allowed Trump’s visit due to its “core values” of welcoming everyone.
Harris campaign officials have not provided further evidence to substantiate her claim, and when asked by a reporter on Monday if she had worked at McDonald’s, Harris simply replied, “Did I? Yes, I did.”
