The US presidential campaign trail made a new stop in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s over the weekend as Donald Trump stepped behind the counter to serve customers.
He also took the opportunity to claim that Kamala Harris has never worked there, despite her previously saying she did. The Republican candidate didn’t provide any evidence for his claim
Sporting a black and yellow apron and assigned to the fryer station, Mr Trump said that working in McDonald’s was something he had wanted to do “all my life”.
“I like McDonalds,” he said. “I like jobs. I like to see good jobs and I think it’s inappropriate when someone puts down that they worked at McDonalds… She [Harris] never worked at McDonald’s.
Mr Trump added: “I’m running against somebody that said she did, but it turned out to be a totally phony story. It was a big part of her resume that she worked at McDonald’s — how tough a job it was. She … made the French fries, and she talked about the heat: ‘It was so tough’. She’s never worked at McDonald’s.”
This isn’t the first time that Mr Trump has claimed Ms Harris is lying about working at McDonald’s, having made similar claims on social media throughout the campaign trail.
Did Kamala Harris work at McDonald’s?
Ms Harris first talked about her job in 2019, when speaking at a picket line in Las Vegas with fast-food employees.
She said: “I worked in McDonald’s. I was a student when I was working at McDonald’s.”
I worked at @McDonalds when I was a student, doing french fries and ice cream. There wasn't a family relying on me to pay the bills — but that's the reality for too many workers today. Proud to stand with @SEIU today for livable wages and a safe working environment. pic.twitter.com/essu9q63JF
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 14, 2019
The Democratic candidate and current vice president also discussed working at McDonald’s on Drew Barrymore’s podcast in April, taking the job on while studying at Howard University in 1983.
Ms Harris has referenced the job as something that roots her in the middle class, comparing herself to Mr Trump who “has no plan to help the middle class, just more tax cuts for billionaires”.
While it’s her word against his, there’s no real evidence that Ms Harris has been lying about working at McDonald’s, with her words going back for the last five years and showing a consistent story.
