From his COVID recovery meal to courtroom snacking: History of Trump's love for McDonald's explored
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As tweets about the Republican candidate's brief gig at the fast food chain crowd the social media, here's a look at his yearslong love for the fast food chain.
Trump praised the "standard" maintained at McDonald's in 2016
The history between Donald Trump and McDonald's goes way back in the past, even before the businessman became the US president in 2017. As a businessman, Trump was once featured in the fast food chain's commercial for its dollar menu in 2002.
More than a decade later, while talking at a 2016 Town Hall during his first presidential campaign, Trump told CNN:
"I’m a very clean person. I like cleanliness, and I think you’re better off going there than maybe someplace where you have no idea where the food’s coming from. It’s a certain standard. One bad hamburger, you can destroy McDonald’s.”
A year later, Politico also reported that during his first campaign, Keith Schiller - Trump's bodyguard and confidante - would routinely visit the fast food chain near Queens' Marine Air Terminal as he waited back in the limousine, adding:
"Egg McMuffins were often the order in the morning, or two quarter-pounders and a large fries later in the day."
In Fire and Fury - the 2018 book written on Trump's presidency - Michael Wolff mentioned a reason behind the former president's love for the fast food chain, saying Trump had "a longtime fear of being poisoned." This is why he preferred to eat at McDonald's, because "nobody knew he was coming and the food was safely premade."
In 2019, when champion college athletes were invited to the White House by Donald Trump, the then-president catered to the guests' meals from McDonald's. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, wrote about a McDonald's meal conveying the well-being of his father-in-law as he struggled with COVID.
He confessed in his 2022 memoir, Breaking History:
"I knew he was feeling better when he requested one of his favorite meals: a McDonald’s Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake."
In 2023, when Trump was in the midst of his fraud trial in Manhattan, several large bags from the fast food chain were reported to be hauled into the courtroom.
McDonald's released a memo about the attention it gained amidst the election campaigns
Between Trump's long-standing love for hamburgers leading to him pulling a shift at the chain and Kamala Harris recalling her brief employment at the joint back in the 1980s, McDonald's has gained a lot of attention in the ongoing election campaigns.
Talking about spotlight on the company, a memo signed by Joe Erlinger - McD's president - was released on Sunday, October 20, stating:
"As we’ve seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation this election cycle. While we’ve not sought this, it’s a testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans. McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue – we are golden."
Through the memo, the fast food chain has highlighted the attention it is receiving as proof of the fact that it remains a key part of everyday American life.