McDonald’s has finally revealed why it does not have records to verify Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim that she worked at one of its restaurants in the 1980s.
In an email memo to McDonalds franchisees in the U.S., the company confirmed that while Harris had “fond memories” of working at a location in Alameda County, “we and our franchisees do not have data for all positions going back to the beginning of the 80’s. ‘
A copy of the internal letter was posted on social media by an anonymous McDonald’s franchisee and confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.
During a meeting with fast food workers in 2019, Harris said she worked at McDonald’s in college.
In April 2024, Harris repeated her claim that she “made fries” at the restaurant during an interview with the Drew Barrymore show.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris still cannot provide proof that she worked at McDonald’s as former President Donald Trump repeatedly claims she lied about it.
The Harris campaign has stated that in 1983, Harris worked at the Central Avenue McDonald’s location in Alameda, California, during the summer after her freshman year at Howard University.
However, the campaign has been unable to provide evidence to support the vice president’s claim, such as a photo, a pay stub or a colleague who can confirm her employment.
Employees at the Alameda, California, franchise told the Telegraph that they have been instructed by the owner not to talk about Harris to reporters trying to verify her work.
The Harris campaign has used her claim about a job at McDonald’s to demonstrate her working-class credentials.
“You have a vice president who always thought about the middle class. When she was in college, she had a job at McDonald’s while she was getting her degree,” deputy director of communications Brooke Goren told Democratic National Committee reporters in June. Another employee called her journey from McDonald’s to the vice presidency “the incarnation of the American dream.”
Trump smiled as he worked the drive-through line during his visit to a McDonald’s restaurant in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania on October 20, 2024
Employees smiled as they posed with Trump at the McDonald’s restaurant
Trump has focused on Harris’ claim to work at McDonald’s, suggesting she lied about it.
The former president visited a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday, donning an apron and making several batches of fries in the kitchen before serving food to customers at the drive-thru service window.
“I have now worked 15 minutes longer than Kamala at McDonald’s,” he told reporters and customers after his visit.
McDonald’s message stated that the company “does not endorse candidates for elected office.”
It allowed Trump to visit because our “core values” are to “open our doors to everyone.”