McDonald’s Corp. said it’s not taking sides in the presidential election following Donald Trump’s visit to a Pennsylvania restaurant on Sunday.
“McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next president,” the company said in an internal message seen by Bloomberg News. “We are not red or blue — we are golden.”
The burger chain has been dragged into the election conversation in part because candidate Kamala Harris has said she worked at the chain when she was a student.Trump’s visit — in which he cooked food, bagged fries and worked the drive-thru, according to his campaign — added more fuel to the discussion.
In its message, McDonald’s said local franchisee Derek Giacomantonio got a request from law enforcement about Trump’s “desire to visit a Pennsylvania restaurant.”
Pennsylvania is considered one of the key swing states that will determine the election. In an interview with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait last week, Trump singled it out as one of the states that he would be closely watching on election night.
A perfectly executed order of fries from President Trump.
Open to ‘everyone’
“Upon learning of the former president’s request, we approached it through the lens of our core values: we open our doors to everyone,” McDonald’s said in its message.
McDonald’s said franchisees — who independently own and operate more than 95 per cent of US locations — have also invited Harris and her running mate Tim Walz for a visit.
Trump has sought to discredit, without evidence, Harris’ claim about her job at the Golden Arches in the 1980s. McDonald’s said that neither corporate nor franchisees have records for all positions going back to that time.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on the message.