Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States, has frequently referenced her early work experience at a fast food restaurant in the Bay Area in order to connect with her electorate. She emphasizes this aspect of her life history as a testament to her grounded upbringing, a narrative akin to the common experiences of many Americans who have pursued low-wage, part-time jobs in food service. However, this claim has been put under question by none other than former President Donald J. Trump, even if without supporting evidence.
The ever-vibrant Mr. Trump has made a name for questioning the narratives put forth by his political opponents, a tactic he uses to challenge their authenticity. In this instance, he has put forth a theory that Ms. Harris never actually assumed a role under the McDonald’s brand, tying in with his renowned skepticism that brought about the ‘birtherism’ scandal involving former President Barack Obama.
While it needs to be clearly stated that Mr. Trump does not offer specific facts to support his claim, he nevertheless constructs a narrative that paints Ms. Harris as a myth-maker. While this insistence to question Ms. Harris’s credibility ventures into uncharted territory, far removed from normal political practices, it is still embraced by a small group of spectators who cast shadows of doubt on Ms. Harris’s stated experiences. However, this subset appears to represent a minority and does not have widespread support.
From a rational perspective, the significance of the supposed discrepancy of whether a presidential candidate had a summer job at a fast food chain during her college days is doubtful. Nevertheless, the pursuit of this detective work continues, fueled by the desire to knock Ms. Harris’s story off kilter, thereby validating Mr. Trump’s allegations.
Ms. Harris’s campaign maintains that she indeed worked for the famous fast food outlet, stationed on Central Avenue in Alameda, Calif., during the summer following her first year at Howard University. Her job responsibilities enlisted manning the cash register, preparing the delectable French fries, and ensuring the smooth operation of the ice cream machine. Specific details about her tenure remain opaque, such as the exact duration of her employment.
Ms. Harris’s time at McDonald’s has also been highlighted in her previous presidential campaign back in 2019. Her associations with the brand, spanned over a summer season to earn some extra pocket money, speaks volume of the hard realities that many Americans cope with, in their struggles to make ends meet through low-income jobs.
The evidence supporting Ms. Harris’s tenure at McDonald’s is not purely insubstantial. A close affiliate from her high school days in Montreal recalls Ms. Harris having worked at McDonald’s around the same timeline. Furthermore, Ms. Harris’s displayed work experiences on her résumé from 1987 include a handful of blue-collar occupational stints, with her McDonald’s employment not explicitly mentioned.
The lack of McDonald’s on Ms. Harris’s résumé was seized by a conservative news outlet, The Washington Free Beacon, to imply that she never worked there in the first place. This notion was presumably adopted by Mr. Trump, who used it to support his theory that Ms. Harris fabricated her employment history. However, it is important to note that the summer of 1983 is completely absent from the resume, leaving the assertion of fabrication as a baseless claim.
The purpose of Ms. Harris including a brief fast food chain employment in her job application, aiming to hold a legal position, raises important queries about the necessity for such an inclusion. Her résumé showcases several prestigious roles, including internships with former Senator Alan Cranston of California, serving as a student assistant in the public affairs office at the Federal Trade Commission, and a summer clerkship at a San Francisco law firm.
Ms. Harris’s previous reluctance to discuss her job at McDonald’s casts doubt on the allegations that she concocted the tale as a political plot. Interestingly, very few of her friends and close aides were aware of her short-lived employment at one of the world’s most recognized fast food chains.
Ms. Harris prefaced her advocacy for a federal $15 minimum wage by relaying her experiences from her early days as a McDonald’s employee during her first presidential campaign in 2019. She used this opportunity to present herself as an ally of the working class, emphasizing the difference between herself, a self-made woman, and Mr. Trump, who was born into wealth.
On the campaign trail, she continues to emphasize her history at McDonald’s to support her claim to understand middle-class concerns. She uses this narrative to empathize with the needs of working-class Americans, creating a clear distinction between herself and Mr. Trump, who was born into affluence and has not held such jobs.
Finally, Ms. Harris frames her job at McDonald’s as a temporal, summer job aimed at generating cash for personal spending. The Vice President underscores how many American citizens, unlike herself, rely on such low-paying jobs to keep their families afloat. This narrative fosters a connection between her and paces her in alignment with the struggling middle class, rebutting allegations of fabricating such a common and shared lived experience.