The New York Times ‘Fact-Checks’ Kamala Harris Working at McDonald’s, and It’s Absolutely Incredible

People often suggest that they hate the press enough, but I can assure you that you do not hate the press enough. That was on full display in the latest “fact-check” from The New York Times, which tackled the issue of whether Vice President Kamala Harris ever worked at McDonald’s. 

The claim has become a centerpiece of Harris’ “middle-class” background, with her first telling the story of “doing the fries” back during her 2019 presidential campaign. While never being mentioned in her memoirs, the claim has reemerged during the 2024 election, leading to mockery from Republicans, including Donald Trump. 

SEE: It Sure Looks Like Kamala Harris Made Up Her Hard Knocks Story About Working at McDonald’s

So what’s the truth? That’s what the Times ostensibly set out to discover. How did things go? I’ll get into the details momentarily, but here’s a summary of the absurd conclusion. 

Vice President Kamala Harris has recalled her stint at a Bay Area McDonald’s 41 years ago in introducing herself to voters — a biographical detail relatable to millions of Americans who have toiled in fast-food restaurants.

But former President Donald J. Trump has repeatedly accused her of inventing it. Lacking a shred of proof, he has charged that she never actually worked under the golden arches — recalling his earlier false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

Mr. Trump’s latest allegation also appears to be false.

Now, you might be asking yourself what incredible evidence the two Times “journalists” who wrote this piece came across to show that “Trump’s latest allegation also appears to be false.” Did they find tax records? Did they figure out what location she worked at? Did they speak to a former co-worker or manager? Did they find a mention of the job in her early resumes or writings? Nope. The entire claim that Trump is lying comes down to “the Harris campaign and a friend told us.” 

As the above post mentions, Harris never said anything about working at McDonald’s for her entire political career until she needed a talking point in 2019. It was also not listed on her college-era resume, where you would expect recent work history to be disclosed. In short, aside from one anonymous “friend” who suddenly decided to come forward, there is not an ounce of evidence that Harris ever worked at McDonald’s. 

That wouldn’t be a big deal if her campaign wasn’t trying so hard to make the claim a part of her narrative. She wants to pretend she grew up hard knocks when she grew up in affluent areas as the child of two white-collar workers. An honest “fact-check” of the situation would have noted the description and at the very least not pronounced that Trump’s questioning of her story is “false.” That is simply dishonest, activist journalism, which has been a hallmark of the Times since its inception.