NY Times avoids mentioning its source corroborating Harris' McDonalds claim is a campaign surrogate

The New York Times was called out for discounting its source's ties to Vice President Kamala Harris while reporting on the controversy over whether she had worked at McDonald's. 

Harris' claim that she worked at the iconic fast food chain for a summer while she was in college has faced tense scrutiny in recent weeks, especially since no records proving her employment have surfaced and none of her co-workers have been found.  

On Sunday, after former President Trump spent his day working at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania to troll the vice president, The Times published a report writing "Donald Trump has claimed without evidence that Ms. Harris never worked at the fast-food chain. Her campaign and a friend say she did."

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The New York Times did not disclose to readers that a source claiming to verify that Vice President Kamala Harris worked at McDonald's is a campaign surrogate. (Getty Images)

That friend was Wanda Kagan, who The Times described as someone "who had known Ms. Harris as a teenager and remained in touch with the family for years afterward."

"Answering questions by email, Ms. Kagan said that Ms. Harris’s mother, who died in 2009, had told Ms. Kagan about the summer job years ago. Ms. Kagan said she herself had also worked at one of the fast-food chain’s many franchises in those years," The Times reported. "'That’s what us regular folks did,' Ms. Kagan wrote. Still, she indicated that it had not been a frequent topic of conversation for Ms. Harris. ‘We didn’t talk much about our McDonald’s days back then,’ she said."

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However, The Washington Free Beacon took a swipe at The Times for not acknowledging that Kagan is a surrogate for the Harris campaign.

As the Free Beacon noted, Kagan sang her friend's praises during an MSNBC appearance at the DNC convention in Chicago. She also co-hosted the "Survivors for Kamala Harris" online campaign event and recently visited the White House to celebrate Harris' birthday. 

The New York Times cited Harris surrogate and longtime friend Wanda Kagan as its source to corroborate that the Democratic nominee worked at McDonald's.

A spokesperson for The Times told Fox News Digital "This was a thoroughly reported and edited piece of independent journalism. The Times stands behind it completely."

Harris has repeatedly touted her work at McDonald's and how she "did fries" as part of her sales pitch to voters about a middle class upbringing. 

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Reporting from The Free Beacon has cast doubt in Harris' claim, which she first made in 2019, and drew attention to the "shifting narratives" from her campaign and a pro-Harris super PAC about her alleged gig.

"First, they claimed she held the job to pay her way through college at Howard University by working at McDonald’s. Then, they said Harris worked there in the summer of 1983, after her freshman year of college, for extra spending money," the Free Beacon wrote, noting that The Times report did not acknowledge the change.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump hands out food while standing at a drive-thru window during a campaign stop at a McDonald's in Feasterville-Trevose, PA on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Trump has repeatedly accused Harris of lying about her working at McDonald's and took a swipe at his Democratic rival while working the drive-thru. 

"I've now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala," Trump told reporters standing outside the drive-thru window.

Several news outlets, including The Times, dinged Trump for accusing Harris of lying "without evidence" despite the fact that Harris has yet to provide evidence she actually worked at McDonald's. 

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.