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Trump cooks fries at McDonald's as he attempts to cast doubt on Harris' earlier employment at the chain
John L. Dorman,Lauren Edmonds
Updated Sun, October 20, 2024 at 6:07 PM EDT·4 min read
17.5k

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Donald Trump visited a McDonald's in a key Pennsylvania county on Sunday.

Kamala Harris said she once worked at a McDonald's, which is a key part of her biography.

Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Harris did not work at McDonald's.

Former President Donald Trump has long been known for his love of the Golden Arches.

After landing at the Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday, Trump and his team traveled to a McDonald's franchise in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, where he donned an official employee apron and began handing out orders to customers waiting in the drive-thru lane. He also helped cook the restaurant's signature fries.

Trump's visit, however, had little to do with his fondness for the food.

For weeks, Trump has attempted to sow doubt — without providing evidence — that Vice President Kamala Harris ever worked at McDonald's, which has become a key part of her biography.

Harris said she worked the cash register and made fries during the summer of 1983. At the time, Harris was an undergraduate at Howard University, and her campaign says she worked at a McDonald's on Central Avenue in Alameda, California, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The former president said in Detroit on Friday that Harris "lied about working at McDonald's."

Trump senior advisor Jason Miller also cast doubt on Harris' McDonald's employment on Saturday, telling reporters that Trump was going to the restaurant "so that one candidate in this race could have actually worked at McDonald's."

Trump needled Harris again on Sunday. While at the drive-thru window, he said he worked at McDonald's for "15 minutes more than Kamala" and once again accused her of never having worked at the chain.

Former President Donald Trump at McDonald's.
Trump briefly served as a McDonald's fry cook during his visit.Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
Harris has firmly pushed back against Trump's accusation.

"When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie," Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams told Business Insider. "He can't understand what it's like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it."

The Harris campaign has promoted the vice president's experience at McDonald's as a part of a middle-class upbringing that might resonate with millions of Americans — and that separates her from the affluent life led by Trump.

Harris and Trump remain locked in a historically tight race. Trump has sought to promote his handling of the economy, an issue he used to his advantage when President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee.

But when Biden exited the race in July, and Harris became the nominee, she quickly went to battle with Trump on the economy and succeeded in eroding his once huge advantage on the issue in key swing states.

McDonald's, headquartered in Chicago, is the world's largest fast-food chain, with over 40,000 locations. It is also a major employer. In Pennsylvania alone, the company says its franchises employ over 25,000 people.

In a statement provided to BI on Sunday, the owner of the McDonald's location that Trump visited said he was honored to "showcase" the restaurant chain.

"As a small, independent business owner, it is a fundamental value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community. That's why I accepted former President Trump's request to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald's," Derek Giacomantonio said.

"As a former crew member, I can attest this job is more than burgers and fries, but a meaningful pathway to opportunity."

Trump's appetite for McDonald's — and other fast food chains — has been well documented.

After winning the requisite number of GOP delegates needed to secure the party's 2016 presidential nomination, Trump was photographed eating a McDonald's Big Mac on his private jet.

And in January 2019, Trump hosted the college championship-winning Clemson University football team at the White House, where he ordered an assortment of fast-food staples for the players from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Domino's Pizza.

Business Insider reached out to the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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The Wrap
Donald Trump Does Time Working at a McDonald’s to Troll Kamala Harris | Video
Stephanie Kaloi
Sun, October 20, 2024 at 4:48 PM EDT·3 min read
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Donald Trump stopped by a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania Sunday to work the fryer, give orders at the drive-thru and neg Kamala Harris about her time working at the fast food chain years ago.

Trump appeared to swing by the french fry station first, where he pulled a basket of fries out of oil and positioned it so the fries could be salted.

The Republican presidential nominee also spent time at the drive-thru window, where he greeted customers, passed out their orders and spoke about his campaign to attending media.

“It’s a great franchise, it’s a great company, and they’ve been very, very nice,” Trump said.

“And, you know, if you look at really what’s happening, look right over there, look at how happy everybody is,” he continued. “They’re happy because they want hope. They need hope. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Watch highlights below:

 Trump also alluded to his previous assertions that Harris never actually worked at McDonald’s when she was young. “Now I have worked at McDonald’s,” he added. “I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala. She never worked here.”

In another clip from the visit, Trump is seen telling reporters, “I could do this all day.” He added, “I wouldn’t mind this job. I like this job, I think I might come back and do it again.”

Trump was then greeted by two customers who appeared happy to see him. “Thank you, Mr. President,” an unidentified man told him. “You made it possible for ordinary people like us to meet you. Thank you so much for everything you are doing. We pray for you.” A woman traveling with the man added, “Thank you for taking a bullet for us.”

Trump also told reporters he will accept the results of the election next month “if it’s a fair election … We’re leading in all the polls now, we’re leading in every swing state.”

After he was asked about raising minimum wage, Trump offered, “Well I think this. These people work hard. They’re great. And I just saw something … a process that’s beautiful.”

You can watch a 13-minute video from Trump’s McDonald’s visit in the video below.

The post Donald Trump Does Time Working at a McDonald’s to Troll Kamala Harris | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

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WTKR
Trump campaigned at a local McDonalds, while Harris spent her 60th birthday at two churches
WTKR
Mon, October 21, 2024 at 6:25 AM EDT

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris continue to campaign with the 2024 Presidential Election almost two weeks away. Trump spent his time in Pennsylvania serving voters at a local McDonalds. Meanwhile, Harris spent her 60th birthday at two churches.

Read more »