Did McDonald’s Stock Drop After Trump Served Fries? What Charts Show

After former President Donald Trump was seen serving fries at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s this weekend, the fast food chain’s stock was reported to drop during trading hours Monday.
On Sunday, Trump was seen speaking to voters and scooping fries through the drive-thru window, although McDonald’s said the company is not endorsing the former president in November’s election.
“Upon learning of the former president’s request, we approached it through the lens of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone,” the company said in a statement to the Associated Press. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next president. We are not red or blue – we are golden.”
McDonald’s also said it invited Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, to serve customers at their restaurants.
However, in the Monday trading hours after Trump was seen on Sunday, McDonald’s stock dropped by 0.53 percent, leading some to think the appearance hampered the fast food chain’s reputation among customers.
However, McDonald’s saw a lower drop than the overall average stock performance. Dow Jones reported an average stock movement of negative 0.80 percent on Monday.
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the drop in McDonald’s stock isn’t significant enough to say the Trump publicity event affected the company in any meaningful way.
“This was an isolated incident at one of the restaurant chain’s locations and wasn’t a part of a business relationship between the company and Trump,” Beene told Newsweek. “The broader market was down today, as well, meaning McDonald’s got dragged down with most of the other consumer stocks.”
Newsweek reached out to McDonald’s for comment via email.
Both Trump and Harris are fighting to secure the votes of lower-wage workers, who traditionally build up McDonald’s workforce, and lower and middle-class Americans, who may be more likely to buy fast food amid high inflation.
According to McDonald’s, around one in 8 Americans has worked at the fast-food giant at some point.
“There’s always the slim chance a voter who opposes Trump will swear off McDonald’s based on the videos and photos that emerged, but the reality is most voters saw the event for what it was, and it will more than likely have no influence on whether they buy a Big Mac and fries at any time in the future,” Beene said.