McDonald's distances itself from Donald Trump and his dubious claim about Kamala Harris

Despite hosting former President Donald Trump for a shift, McDonald's does not support his claims that Vice President Kamala Harris is lying about her stint working at a California McDonald's in the summer of 1983, The Washington Post reported.

Throughout her campaign, Harris has mentioned her time as a McDonald's employee, an experience shared by one in eight Americans.

Trump hasn’t let go of the mention of Harris’ teenage summer job, repeatedly telling Americans that she never worked at McDonald's and is making the whole thing up. As Harris’ employment was 41 years ago, in the pre-digital era, there are no official records of her employment at the Bay Area McDonald's.

“We have checked with McDonald’s, and they say, definitively, that there is no record of Lyin’ Kamala Harris ever having worked there,” he wrote Sunday afternoon. “In other words, she never worked there, and has lied about this ‘job’ for years.”

On Sunday, the Republican nominee took the attack a step further and pretended to work a shift at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. He stood in the drive-thru window and handed food to “customers,” who were in fact supporters pre-screened by the Secret Service. 

“I’m looking for a job,” Trump said to the owner of McDonalds location. “And I’ve always wanted to work at McDonald’s, but I never did. I’m running against somebody that said she did, but it turned out to be a totally phony story.”

McDonalds has welcomed the attention, but its staying neutral in the debate about Harris’ employment, according to a statement obtained by The Washington Post. 

“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’s fond memories working under the Arches,” the message to its employees reads. “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 multi-billion dollar franchise also told the Associated Press it is an apolitical company and does not support either candidate. 

“Upon learning of the former president’s request, we approached it through the lens of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone,” the company said. “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.”