Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS
- Donald Trump visited a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
- It was the latest in a long tradition of presidential candidates invoking the fast-food chain.
- Besides being a famous place to eat, McDonald’s has also been an employer to many Americans.
Donald Trump’s Sunday visit to a McDonald’s restaurant shows that presidential candidates still view the fast-food chain as a major opportunity to appear relatable to voters.
Trump is far from the first candidate to invoke the Golden Arches during their campaign. Mitt Romney handed out fries from the chain to reporters during his run for president in 2012. Bill Clinton’s habit of stopping at an Arkansas McDonald’s while out on his morning jogs gained attention during his 1992 presidential run — and even inspired a Saturday Night Live skit.
On Sunday, former President Trump reportedly served fries and handed them out at the drive-thru window of McDonald’s in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, for about 15 minutes. The location was closed for regular business during his visit, according to the Washington Post. Visitors to the drive-thru had to be screened by the Secret Service and didn’t get to choose what Trump handed them, the Post reported.
Part of the reason Trump was rolling up his sleeves and getting frying is because his opponent Kamala Harris has spoken about working at McDonald’s in 1983 to earn money as a college student (something that Trump and his team have repeatedly said didn’t happen, without providing any evidence).
In response, Harris’ campaign has confirmed her early job at McDonald’s — and questioned Trump’s familiarity with the middle class. “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,” Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams told BI on Sunday in response to Trump’s appearance.
McDonald’s role as an employer has been a key part of people’s references to the chain. Candidates like Harris and business leaders like Jeff Bezos have often mentioned their work at McDonald’s as a formative experience. The chain says that one in eight Americans has worked at one of its restaurants at some point in their lives.
“When I was flippin’ burgers at McDonald’s, when I was standing in front of that big Hobart machine washing dishes or waiting tables, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life,” Paul Ryan said when he was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee in 2012. Ryan mentioned his McDonald’s experience alongside his love of camping and truck ownership in a bid to relate to middle-income Americans during that campaign.
Derek Giacomantonio, the franchisee who owns and operates the McDonald’s restaurant where Trump appeared, said in a statement that a job at McDonald’s is “more than burgers and fries, but a meaningful pathway to opportunity.”
It also remains one of the most-visited retail establishments in America. About 87% of US households visited the chain at least once in the 12 months to June 30, according to data provider Numerator. McDonald’s has about 13,500 locations in the US, according to the company’s latest annual filing with the SEC.
Still, McDonald’s said it is “not a political brand,” according to a Sunday memo shared internally and confirmed by a person familiar with the communication.
The company “does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next president,” the memo reads. “We are not red or blue — we are golden.”
In the run-up to the election, it would probably be unwise for the company to pick a side in the hotly contested race. It has lost customers who found the chain too expensive or who have chosen to eat at competing restaurants, which has spurred it to offer a $5 meal to lure back Americans. And Gen Z diners are less likely to see fast food as a good deal than older generations, a survey earlier this year from Morning Consult found.