Harris Claims She Worked at McDonald's in College. Here's What We Know (2024)

");}else if(is_tablet()){slot_number++;document.write("

");}

On multiple occasions throughout U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' political career, she has called attention to her work history — in particular, an alleged job at McDonald's — in an attempt to connect with low-wage workers.

On Aug. 10, 2024, for example, her presidential campaign released a new video advertisem*nt in which she claims she worked at the fast-food restaurant "while she got her degree," presumably in reference to the undergraduate degree that she received from Howard University in 1986.

A few days later, The Washington Post reported on the ad, writing "Harris is making her stint at the Golden Arches a part of her story." Other outlets, such as The New York Times, CNN, Politico, and ABC News, also repeated the claim, relying on Harris' testimony alone as evidence. The New York Times and Politico reported she worked at McDonald's "between her freshman and sophom*ore years in college."

However, not everyone on the internet believed Harris, and some made unfounded claims that "McDonald's Corporate sources" confirmed they have no record of Harris working at any of their locations. "There are no records or credible sources indicating that she worked at McDonald's," one X user wrote, for example. Another user pointed out that "Most McD's are franchises and their corporate office wouldn't have any records, especially from 45 years ago."

Aside from the above-mentioned news reports, there was no tangible evidence of Harris working at McDonald's as a college student. We reached out to Harris' campaign, as well as McDonald's headquarters, seeking such proof — which could include photos or videos of her working at the restaurant, employment records or physical items such as a uniform or name tag. We also looked for public interviews by friends or family members of Harris' to confirm the story, with no luck.

Another angle we considered was Harris' tax records. Politicians are not required to make their tax records public; however, as of this writing, Harris has released 20 tax returns. Unfortunately, that is still too recent to see any indication of her working at McDonald's, which would've been in the 1980s.

We will update this report when we uncover evidence to independently verify or debunk Harris' story.

Harris Has Repeated the McDonald's Story

Long before her 2024 presidential campaign, Harris talked about the alleged work experience, "doing french fries and ice cream." In 2019, for example, after speaking at a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rally, she posted a video on X of the event with the caption:

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.

Flash forward to her time as vice president, and, in April 2024, Harris mentioned the alleged gig during an appearance on "The Drew Barrymore Show." When assistant host Ross Mathews told her he once worked the register, drive-thru and grill at McDonald's, Harris said: "I did fries, and then I did the cashier."

In an August 2024 X post, she again claimed she worked at McDonald's in college "to earn spending money."

(X user @KamalaHarris)

Other members of the Democratic Party have repeated the anecdote, too. During a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21, for instance, former President Bill Clinton said: "When [Harris] was young, she worked at McDonald's, and she greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, 'How can I help you?' Now she's at the pinnacle of power and she's still asking, 'How can I help you?'"

In sum, until we uncover further evidence to corroborate or disprove Harris' story, we rated this claim "Research In Progress."

Advertisment:

Article Tags