Since her early days on the campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris often speaks about her job at McDonald’s when she was in college, a sort of milestone factoid in her political narrative. Now, on the stump for the 2024 presidential election, this experience serves not only as a mere personal anecdote but as a counterpoint to criticisms from political opponents most notably, former President Donald Trump.
Harris confirmation that she was employed
Kamala Harris has publicly confirmed that, yes, she did work at McDonald’s during her twenties while attending Howard University. In interviews, she has described this job as a summer job to make a little bit of extra cash. During the MSNBC interview, when she was asked if she had ever served the famous McDonald’s menu items, she gave an affirmative response, claiming that her role was important and closely related to those families and working-class Americans in general, also detailed here, Did Kamala Harris work at McDonald’s? Donald Trump laughs at Democratic candidate and says he’s going to work as a “french fry delivery boy”
Harris said, “It was not an insignificant task. There are people working at McDonald’s around our country who are working to support families and pay rent.” She thereby signaled that she intends to connect her experience to broader economic concerns of ordinary Americans.
Political context and criticism
Despite Harris’s assertions about her employment history, critics-most loudly from the Republican Party-have questioned the authenticity of those claims. Trump has insisted on referring to her story as “fake” and claimed she never worked at the fast-food chain and even yesterday McDonald’s claimed to not have any records of Kamala Harris working for the company. She has responded to that accusation by saying her experiences, particularly, would bring valuable insight into the lives of working families.
This scandal about her McDonald’s job reached a fever pitch upon the revelation that she had failed to list this employment on her 1987 resume when seeking to work as a law clerk. In response, critics cited this as evidence that she must not be telling the truth, because, if she had actually worked in the restaurant, she would have listed it. However, proponents insist that anyone would agree that including lower-skilled jobs in a resume is not necessary.
The relevance of her experience
McDonald’s is not just a footnote in Harris’s biography but an integral part of her campaign messaging. She invokes the experience routinely in an effort to display her own sense of the economic stresses facing many Americans today. Harris shares stories from her childhood in a bid to connect with voters about issues ranging from job security to fair wages and economic opportunity.
In a number of speeches and interviews, she stresses how McDonald’s gave her a first-class education in hard work and toughness. “Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work there who are trying to raise a family,” she said in an interview with MSNBC.
Broader implications for her campaign
Harris also framed her time at McDonald’s as a strategic contrast against Trump’s background as a rich businessman. By emphasizing how humble her beginnings were, and how relatable certain experiences have been, Harris tries to position herself as more in touch with the average American than Trump, who too often is mired in representing elite interests.
This message comes across extremely well during an election cycle when the economic issues are at the forefront. In fact, the polls reflect that people are really worried about the management of the economy, and Harris’s personal story is designed to boost her credentials on such matters.
