Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Sunday visit to a Pennsylvania McDonald’s prompted the fast food restaurant to make clear it isn’t taking sides in the 2024 race.
“McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President,” the company said in a memo obtained by CNN and posted by a social media user claiming to be a McDonald’s franchise operator. “We are not red or blue — we are golden.”
Trump visited an independently operated store in Feasterville-Trevose Sunday, where he operated a French fry cooker and handed bags of food to vetted supporters outside a drive-thru window, according to the Washington Post. The restaurant wasn’t otherwise open for business and no orders were reportedly taken. Supporters took what they were given.
McDonald’s corporate statement to franchisees makes clear the company didn’t invite the 78-year-old fast food enthusiast to use one of its licensed franchises in a publicity stunt, but said “we open our doors to everyone.”
The eatery added that it didn’t intend to be a player in the political process, but the fact it has become one is a “testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans.”
The roughly 70-year-old institution first became involved in the presidential race after Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris said she was employed by a California McDonald’s that helped her pay for college during summer 1983. She got her bachelor’s degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and attended law school at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law.
Harris, who celebrated her 60th birthday Sunday, has spoken about her time under the Golden Arches where she said her responsibilities included making fries and operating a cash register.
Trump has questioned whether Harris was employed by the burger joint, which says it doesn’t keep records dating back that far.
“I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump said Sunday.
According to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s book, the former president’s favorite McDonalds order consists of a Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, fries and a vanilla shake. Asked about his favorite menu items Sunday, Trump answered “I like it all.”
McDonald’s didn’t respond to a request for comment.