“I made French fries and I made ice cream. I worked at McDonald’s. I was a student when I worked at McDonald’s,” Harris said in a video widely shared on social media over the weekend. Harris made the statement five years ago when she first ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In June 2019, then-California Senator Harris made her statement surrounded by employee representatives in front of a branch of the US fast-food chain in Las Vegas. The recording was shared again in the run-up to a campaign appearance by the now Vice President on Saturday in the US gambling metropolis. The fact that the recording is already more than five years old was not apparent from the postings.
The British newspaper “The Independent” took up the topic on Saturday and reported that Harris could “make history” if she wins the election. She would be the first US head of state to have previously worked at McDonald’s. According to the newspaper, 13 percent of Americans, or 41 million people, have worked at McDonald’s at some point in their lives. Harris would not only be the first McDonald’s employee, but also the first woman and the first person with Indian roots to head the US government.
At her campaign appearance on Saturday, Harris promised to abolish the tax on tips in the hospitality industry. In doing so, she adopted a proposal from her Republican opponent Donald Trump. “If I am president, I will continue the fight for America’s working families, including raising the minimum wage and eliminating taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” she said to thousands of supporters. In Nevada, many people are employed in the hospitality industry. The state is considered one of the few “swing states” in which the outcome of the US presidential election is not already largely certain.
In the USA, it is common for service staff to only receive a low minimum wage and rely on tips. Unlike in Austria, for example, tips – which are usually much more generous in the USA – are not tax-free. Harris now wants to change this, but as president she cannot do so. This requires a corresponding resolution from Congress, which is currently not controlled by the ruling Democrats.
