Donald Trump’s McDonald’s Shift Went Down Best With Gen Z

Donald Trump’s shift at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s was most popular with Gen Z, a new poll shows.
The former President, known for his love of fast food, made headlines when he learned how to make fries at a branch in Feasterville-Trevose in Bucks County last weekend.
The apprentice worker held an impromptu news conference via the drive-thru window, and used the opportunity to repeat his claims that Kamala Harris has been lying about working for the fast-food chain in her college years.
Harris has referenced her McDonald’s stint multiple times. In an August 31 post on X, formerly Twitter, she referred to herself as “a daughter of Oakland, California, who was raised by a working mother and had a summer job at McDonald’s.”
A total of 39 percent of Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2006) said Trump’s stunt made them like him somewhat or much more.
This is significantly more than the 23 percent of 18 to 27-year-olds who said the shift made them like Trump less, while 38 percent said it did not impact how much they like Trump.
The 39 percent who said they liked the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate more after his stint comprises 21 percent who said they liked him much more and 18 percent who said they liked him somewhat more.
This is all according to new polling carried out on behalf of Newsweek, by market research company Talker Research, which questioned 514 people between October 22 and October 23.
Across all age groups, 30 percent said the McDonald’s shift made them like Trump somewhat or much more—22 percent and 8 percent respectively.
The majority of both Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) and the Silent Generation (people born between 1825 and 1945) said the move made them like Trump less.
Among Baby Boomers, 23 percent said it made them like Trump more and 25 percent said it made them like him less. Meanwhile, among the Silent Generation, 14 percent said it made them like Trump more and 28 percent said it made them like him less.
Trump’s McDonald’s visit meant police closing off surrounding streets and cordoning off the restaurant. A large crowd stretching several blocks gathered across the street, with supporters waving Make American Great Again (MAGA) flags and signs.
Derek Giacomantonio, the owner of the McDonald’s franchise, welcomed Trump’s request to visit. “It is a fundamental value of my organization that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community,” he said in a statement.
He added that this was why he accepted Trump’s request “to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald’s.”
The shift came after Trump repeatedly cast doubts over whether Democratic presidential candidate Harris worked at McDonald’s Howard University—the Vice President has said that she briefly worked at a McDonald’s branch in Alameda, California, during a summer between college semesters in the early 1980s.
Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams previously told the New York Times, “When Trump feels desperate, all he knows how to do is lie. He can’t understand what it’s like to have a summer job because he was handed millions on a silver platter, only to blow it.”
Newsweek has contacted teams for Trump and Harris, via email, for any further comment.