"McDonald's has no proof unfortunately" — Internet reacts to Obama saying Kamala Harris did not work at a fast food joint when it was closed
Barack Obama recently referenced Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris's stint at McDonald's as a college student during his Detroit rally appearance on October 20. During his rally speech, the former US president also addressed Republican candidate Donald Trump's recent job as a french fry attendant at the fast food chain in Pennsylvania on October 20.
Obama compared the two situations, adding that Harris worked at McDonald's to support herself in college, unlike Trump who pretended to work there when it was closed, for his appearance.
"Kamala Harris was raised in the middle class. She worked at McDonald’s when she was in college. She didn’t pretend to work at McDonald’s when it was closed," he said.
Obama's comments were met with mixed reviews on social media. Many repeated Trump's rhetoric that McDonald's had no proof of Harris working at the fast food chain, with one person tweeting:
Several people agreed with this sentiment, claiming Trump had more experience working at the fast food chain than Harris.
"McDonald’s was unable to verify whether Kamala Harris ever worked at McDonald’s. Donald Trump has more McDonald’s experience than Kamala Harris," one person tweeted.
"Lmao she never worked at McDonald's," another person added.
"McDonalds already said they have NO RECORD of her working there! You people are fcking sad!!! Now let's do Barry and Kenya shall we?" someone else commented.
"We all know that President Trump worked at McDonald's 15 minutes longer than kamala," another user wrote.
However, others seemingly agreed with Obama's remarks about Trump, adding that his McDonald's gig was a stunt.
"Trump spending 30 minutes inside a McDonald’s and then claiming he “worked” there tells you everything you need to know about him Clean out the grease trap or the bathrooms. Even do a full shift one the line and come back and talk to me. He’s lazy," one person commented.
"And, Trump looked so silly at the McDonald’s—he wasn’t there to learn about the people, just to pull a stunt," another person added.
"Donnie was so proud of his fake job at a staged McDonald’s. #MakeAWish," someone else tweeted.
Kamala Harris said she worked at McDonald's in 1983
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has often mentioned her employment at McDonald's when she was a student at Howard University. Quentin Fulks, her deputy campaign manager, claimed the Vice President worked at the fast food chain's Alameda, California branch in the summer of 1983.
Harris revealed that working at the fast food chain inspired her to advocate for the working class and their families. In an MSNBC interview in September, she said:
“Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family. I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people and what our responsibility then is to meet those needs.”
However, Donald Trump has often refuted her job experience, accusing her of lying. According to The Telegraph, he claimed he sent his people over to verify Harris's work experience, adding that the manager at the branch she claimed to have worked in allegedly said she never worked there.
One of McDonald's franchisees told Newsweek that the fast food chain preferred to stay out of politics when asked about Kamala Harris and her employment.
"McDonald's tries hard to stay out of politics. The email [Sunday] was the first time anything was mentioned. I do not think McDonald's has any desire sorting through any type of files to find out if this is true," they said.
They also said most branches only have records of employees hired in the past seven years, so it would be nearly impossible to verify Harris's employment in 1983. They added that Harris would have to publicly release her pay slips or tax returns to show proof of employment at the fast food chain.
In other news, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris's campaigns continue, with two weeks left for the presidential election. After her campaign rally in Detroit, which was also attended by rapper Eminem, Harris will reportedly appear for a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania on October 23. Meanwhile, Trump will appear at a rally in Georgia that same day.