Trump serves up McDonald’s fries but dodges question on minimum wage

FEASTERVILLE, Pa. - Former president Donald Trump briefly manned the fry station at a McDonald’s franchise here on Sunday, but dodged a question about increasing the minimum wage.

Wearing an apron, the Republican presidential nominee lifted fries out of the hot oil, shook them, salted them and placed them into containers for service. He praised the staff and the company, then popped his head out the drive-through window and waved at a crowd that had gathered across the street. He began to hand out paper bags to the cars that had been waiting in line before his arrival. One man said, “Trump 2024!” as he drove away.

Trump responded to several reporters’ questions through the drive-through window. Asked whether he’d accept the 2024 election results, he did not commit. “Sure, if it’s a fair election,” he said, as he has before.

Trump, a real estate billionaire-turned-politician, also did not answer a question on whether he supported raising the minimum wage.

“Well, I think this. These people work hard,” Trump said. “They’re great. And I just saw something - a process that’s beautiful.”

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McDonald’s workers make an average of $13 to $15 an hour nationwide, according to hiring websites Indeed and ZipRecruiter. In Pennsylvania, which follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, fast-food workers make an average of $13.20 an hour, according to 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

For years, McDonald’s workers and allied activists have pressured the company and other fast-food giants to raise their pay and call for a higher federal minimum wage through groups such as Fight for $15.

In 2019 and 2020, activists called on Derek Giacomantonio, the franchisee who opened his doors to Trump on Sunday, to raise wages at one of his franchises in Philadelphia. Giacomantonio owns eight McDonald’s locations in the Philadelphia region.

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Trump’s visit to McDonald’s was not in support of that effort. Instead, he focused on promoting his unsubstantiated claim that Vice President Kamala Harris did not work at the fast-food chain in college.

Harris has talked about working at McDonald’s at campaign events and even in a campaign ad, as a way to highlight her middle-class background. In one Harris campaign ad, the narrator says: “She grew up in a middle-class home. She was the daughter of a working mom. And she worked at McDonald’s while she got her degree.”

Harris worked at McDonald’s on Central Avenue in Alameda, Calif., in the summer of 1983, according to her campaign. Harris was a student at Howard University at the time. Her responsibilities including working the cash register along with the fry and ice cream machines, her campaign said.

Harris spoke about her stint at McDonald’s in an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” earlier this year. She also talked about the job in 2019, when she joined McDonald’s workers in Las Vegas who were protesting for higher wages.

“When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie. He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it,” said Ian Sams, a Harris campaign spokesperson.

Although Harris and McDonald’s have not produced any evidence proving that she worked at the fast-food chain, a short stint of summer employment four decades ago is not likely to have resulted in any permanently preserved records. In pro-Trump media, however, the absence of documentation has morphed into proof that Harris lied.

Evidence has not restrained Trump’s past attacks on his political opponents. He rose to prominence in Republican politics by promoting a false conspiracy theory questioning President Barack Obama’s citizenship.

“Now I’ve worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala,” Trump said as he wrapped up his time at the fryer. When asked why Harris would lie about working at McDonald’s, Trump responded: “Because she’s Lyin’ Kamala.”

Trump has long been a fan of McDonald’s, and once filmed an ad for the fast-food chain. During a 2016 CNN town hall, Trump told Anderson Cooper that his McDonald’s meal of choice was the “fish delight,” before musing that “the Big Macs are great, the Quarter Pounders with cheese.” As president in January 2019, Trump ordered fast food from McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Domino’s for a White House event for the Clemson University football team.

While he worked the fryer, Trump, who has described himself as a germaphobe, observed: “Never touches the human hand, nice and full.”

“Never touched a human hand,” he said. “Nice and clean.”

Ahead of Trump’s visit Sunday, Giacomantonio posted a letter saying: “We proudly open our doors to everyone and as a locally owned and operated location, this visit provides a unique opportunity to shine a light on the positive impact of small businesses here in Feasterville.”

He also posted on X: “Personally speaking, our doors are always open to the community. It’s Americana. I would open the door for either Presidential candidate. Former President Clinton went to a @McDonalds last week. I thought it was great (and deja vu). @KamalaHarris is also a fan of the brand.”

Trump appeared to enjoy the visit and took in the crowd: “Look at how happy everyone is. they need hope.”

Mariana Alfaro, Emily Heil and Justine McDaniel contributed to this report.