Trump is the first fry cook to become president

He launched McDonald's in 2019 as a fast-food buffet for college football champions. During his 2024 election campaign, he stopped at a McDonald's drive-thru window. Footage shows Saudi Arabia launching a McDonald's trailer during Trump's Middle East trip earlier this year.

He also spoke at the McDonald's Impact Summit in Washington, D.C., on November 17, where McDonald's leadership, franchise owners, and other stakeholders discussed its corporate strategy.

Trump said, "I am proud to stand before you as the first former McDonald's fry cook to become president of the United States." But did he work at McDonald's? We know this:

Did Donald Trump work at McDonald's?

During a campaign stop before the 2024 presidential election, he stopped and ate at a McDonald's.

As Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris entered the final stages of their campaign, Trump visited a McDonald's in Pennsylvania and made his unsubstantiated claim that Harris had never worked at his restaurant, although Harris says she worked there to pay for her college tuition in the 1980s.

"I'm looking for a job, and I've always wanted to work at McDonald's. I never did," Trump said in a video posted on X on October 20, 2024. "I'm running against someone who said she worked there, but it turned out to be a completely false story."

Wearing an apron over his usual shirt and red tie, he worked at the fry station and drive-thru window.

The footage went viral, and the campaign immediately turned it into a business opportunity by selling "McDonald's" T-shirts.

Trump Talks Prices and Affordability at McDonald's

At the summit, Trump sought to highlight his efforts to curb inflation and his love for McDonald's, a working-class favorite.

He said, "While other politicians travel on campaign planes filled with expensive food, Trump's private plane, before boarding Air Force One, which is also a nice plane, was served only McDonald's almost every time."

Trump also highlighted his efforts to eliminate various taxes, loosen regulations, and increase investment to strengthen the economy.

He referred to the tax cuts in his signature tax and spending bill, passed by Congress in July, saying, "No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our seniors."

As he did in a post on TruthSocial on November 5, Trump once again claimed that Walmart's 2025 Thanksgiving meal was 25% lower in price than in 2024.

However, the pre-selected products in Walmart's 2025 Thanksgiving meal bundle include fewer grocery items and different food brands than in 2024. An analysis by FactCheck.org found that "prices are still lower than similar items in the 2024 meal, but it's a smaller drop—6.5%, by our calculations."

According to Consumer Price Index data, average U.S. grocery prices in September were 2.7% higher than in September 2024, under former President Joe Biden. But inflation also reached a high of 9.1% in June 2022, the highest in four decades under Biden.

In 2025, overall food prices are projected to rise faster than the historical average rate of growth. According to a September forecast from the USDA's Economic Research Service, prices for all food items are projected to rise by 3% in 2025.

Trump signed an executive order on November 14 that removed tariffs on products including beef, coffee, tomatoes, and oranges to address affordability concerns.

He also praised McDonald's for its "recommitment to affordable options."

He said, "I want to give a special thanks to McDonald's for lowering the prices of its most popular products and bringing back Extra Value Meals."