Lyndon Johnson herded goats, Richard Nixon plucked chickens, and Bill Clinton stocked groceries.

Many Presidents I've done a humble job. Early in their working lives, they will be McDonald's servers. If Kamala Harris is elected in November, she will join that list as a McDonald's server herself.

The vice president has worked at McDonald's for the past few years. She was a student“We're doing fries and ice cream.” That she and her campaign even mentioned it seemed like an acknowledgement of the powerful constituency she is trying to woo.

Over time, as McDonald's franchises spread across the country and the brand became dominant, it became harder to ignore the tedious, dead-end aspects of working for the chain. By the 1980s, the term “McJob” had entered the pop culture lexicon as a pejorative. Merriam-Webster Still, the profession is defined as “a low-paid job that requires few skills and offers little opportunity for advancement.”

But for Ms. Harris and her surrogates, it was something to brag about. While some past presidents have spoken little about their modest professional lives, Ms. Harris' campaign has touted her time under the Golden Arches. The ad was released The paper said the vice president “worked at McDonald's while getting her degree,” referring to her time at Howard University in the 1980s, adding that “Kamala Harris knows what it's like to be middle class.”

Several speeches at the Democratic National Convention focused on the vice president's background in the fast food industry. Clinton, a known McDonald's fan, If electedHarris will break the record for being the “longest-time president” there, and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett spoke about the burger giant. Attacking former President Trump“One of the candidates worked at McDonald's while attending an HBCU. The other comes from a wealthy family.”

At a time when Democratic candidates have consistently lagged Republicans in winning over working-class voters, Harris' campaign's decision to associate her candidate with a broadly popular brand is a smart one that could make her more relatable, observers told The Times.

“This is a clever way to appeal to the working class. [voters] “…You may have worked in worse places than McDonald's,” said David Garrow, author of the Barack Obama biography “Rising Star.” “There's definitely an aspect of class appeal there.”

It also may be an attempt to divert attention from Harris's status as a liberal from California, said Emily Comtois, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Tulsa.

Harris is trying to “appeal to voters across the country,” Comtois said, adding that McDonald's has a “nationalist vibe” that might help: “Almost every American has eaten at a McDonald's.”

But the problem is not without danger.

On August 29, the conservative news site Washington Free Beacon The report was released Articles questioning whether Harris had worked at McDonald's noted that the job was not listed on the resume she submitted a year after graduating college, and that her biographer had not mentioned it. The Trump campaign jumped on the story, Harris asked for proof She worked at the chain store.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Vice President Douglas Emhoff ordered food from El Chorro in Santa Monica last year.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Trump said the vice president lied about working at McDonald's during a campaign event last week, and repeated the claim the next day at a news conference at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes.

“She has never worked at McDonald's,” he said. “That's a lie. They went in and investigated and the fake news won't report that. … She has never worked at McDonald's. She said she stood over the fries when they were frying and they were very hard.” [work]”She's a liar.”

In a statement to The Times, Harris campaign spokesman Ryan Lake praised the vice president's “middle-class roots,” saying it was “a big part of why she's fighting to lower the cost of living and ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to not just survive, but get ahead.”

“It's no wonder Trump doesn't get that, given that he wants to explode the burden on the middle class in order to raise taxes on billionaires,” Lake said.

McDonald's did not respond to a request for comment.

After the Free Beacon report was published, former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois downplayed the matter. he “I worked at Hardee's and I've literally never told anyone about it until now. It's not on my records. And yet I worked there.”

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Her McDonald's experience contrasts with Harris' reputation as a foodie: She has extensive culinary knowledge from restaurants in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and is also a skilled home cook, a hobby that has become part of her political persona.

“One of the things I enjoy most is cooking dinner with my family on Sundays, and it calms me down,” she said. Instagram Videos Posted in July.

Comtois believes the McDonald's and Sunday dinner references are different parts of the same overarching strategy for candidates to connect with voters: Harris' McDonald's experience “will reach a different audience than people who are focused on the fact that she makes the best roast chicken,” she said.

Harris' work at McDonald's gives her something in common with a large portion of voters. The fast-food company 1 in 8 Americans He has worked at the chain, and during a convention speech, Sen. Doug Emhoff drew laughter when he said he once worked there. Employee of the Month At his branch.

Crockett's pointed comments were echoed by other Democrats who also brought up Harris' time selling French fries. During her campaign, she McDonald's in Alameda, California.In the summer of 1983, she wrote, “I'm not a racist. I'm …

“Can you imagine Donald Trump trying to make a McFlurry or something at McDonald's?” Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Waltz asked the audience. in August. “He couldn't get that damn McFlurry machine to work.”

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Several 21st century presidents have worked in the food service industry, including Barack Obama. As a teenager, he scooped ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu. In recent years, Obama has spoken about his involvement in the food service industry, A 2020 speech attacking President Trump.

In the final year of his presidency, President Obama He wrote on LinkedIn Obama said his job at the ice cream company taught him the value of “responsibility, hard work, friends, family and balancing school and work,” but he did not make his experience at Baskin-Robbins part of his campaign message.

That may have been strategic, Garrow said: “Obama wanted to present himself as the 'best and brightest people,' not just some average guy with a average job,” Garrow said of Obama's first presidential run.

Jerry Newman, on the other hand, believes fast-food jobs are something candidates can sell. The author of “My Secret Life on the McJob,” a 2006 book that chronicled his undercover work in fast food, said fast-food workers learn the importance of reliability, working under pressure and being a team player — fundamental principles of any blue-collar job.

“Even if they hadn't already learned those things, they can point to them as definitely being reinforced during their time working at that chain,” Harris said.

If working at McDonald's or Baskin-Robbins is now something to be celebrated, it may reflect changing views on the value of blue-collar work at a time when many Americans identify with the label “working class.”

According to August poll A Pew Research Center survey found that 54% of Americans said the term “working class” describes them “very or very well,” and 62% of Republicans described themselves as working class, compared with 48% of Democrats.

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On a recent weekday afternoon, the temperature was 96 degrees, and the McDonald's parking lot on Vine Street in Hollywood was shimmering with heat. Ashley Zamarripa, 21, whose restaurant's terrace offered a little shade, said she had no idea Harris had previously worked at McDonald's and that it made the vice president “feel even closer to home.”

“Hearing Harris' story about having a job that most people have, I could relate to it because I also work in retail,” she said.

Not everyone viewed Harris' background in a positive light. One unshaven, sweatpants-wearing man who declined to give his name said he didn't think Harris' work in the fast-food industry was “worth it.” After all, he noted, plenty of people have to take on hard jobs to make a living.

But Rod Hubbard, who works for a private security company, said: “If I was in her position, it's a story I can relate to.”

Hubbard laughs wryly as she explains that she once worked at Burger King and understands the struggles Harris faced at McDonald's. “I mean, she understands the hard work,” he says. “Like a lot of us, she's been through the same things.”

Times reporter Haley Branson Potts and researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.