McDonald’s does not have a record of Kamala Harris’ employment at the fast-food chain

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has leaned into her story of working at a McDonald’s as a college student, but the fast food giant says it has no records of her employment.

In a memo circulating online from McDonald’s to franchisees in the U.S., the company discussed former President Donald Trump’s visit to a store in battleground Pennsylvania on Sunday, where he served food in the drive-thru and made french fries at the location, which was closed to the public.

The move made by the Trump campaign was meant to needle Ms. Harris for her story that she worked at a McDonald’s in the early 1980s in Alameda, California — an anecdote shared to hammer home her message that she grew up in the middle class.

Mr. Trump has claimed that the vice president has never worked at McDonald’s, and Ms. Harris has denied the accusation.

The company was unable to clear up the situation in its memo.

“Though we are not a political brand, we’ve been proud to hear former President Trump’s love for McDonald’s and Vice President Harris’ fond memories working under the Arches,” the company said. “While we and our franchisees don’t have records for all positions dating back to the early ‘80s, what makes ‘1 in 8’ so powerful is the shared experience so many Americans have had.”

The “1 in 8” referenced in the memo is part of a corporate messaging campaign from the company that at least 1 in 8 Americans have worked at a McDonald’s store. The Washington Times contacted McDonald’s to confirm the memo and whether the company kept any employment records from the pre-digital 1980s.

McDonald’s also extended an invitation to Ms. Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to visit a store and said that it had no plans to endorse a candidate in the 2024 race for the White House.

“McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President,” the company said. “We are not red or blue — we are golden.”