Despite Trump religiously buying his meals in the public eye at fast food chains like McDonald’s and Chick-Fil-A, the former president hasn’t been receiving as much support from the industry with a history of making contributions to the Republican party.…
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Despite Trump religiously buying his meals in the public eye at fast food chains like McDonald’s and Chick-Fil-A, the former president hasn’t been receiving as much support from the industry with a history of making contributions to the Republican party.
This year, the industry as a whole has donated less money to Republicans than previous election cycles. A possible reason for the shift is that the industry is concerned about Trump’s business policies, which they believe could hurt their bottom line, trigger boycotts, and hurt their sales…so they’ve been keeping distance from the candidate while still donating to the Republican party, and other candidates…just not as much.
We saw the same in the 2016 election cycle with Trump gaining $152,000 in donations from fast food associates while Hilary Clinton received over $1,000,000.
According to OpenSecrets.org, contributions from affiliates of the industry peaked in 2020 ($50 million) and have fallen to just about $10 million overall in 2024.
Some brands and companies in the fast food and quick service restaurant industry that have donated to political parties in the past include (It should be noted that corporations are barred from donating to political campaigns but CEOs, unions and employees are able to do so):
- $2.5 million to the Mitt Romney campaign while only $1.2 million to Barack Obama
- Coca-Cola and McDonald’s donated more to Jeb Bush ad Bernie Sanders than any Republican nominee
- In-N-Out CEO donated more than $15,000 to the Republican party since 2016
- Waffle House donated over $118,000 during the 2020 election cycle with the majority of donations going to Republicans
- Carl’s Jr donated $44,400 to the Republican National Committee in 2020
- White Castle donated $23,557 in the 2020 election cycle
- Affiliates of the Association of KFC Franchisees donated $68,000 during the 2020 election cycle with the majority going to Republican candidates
- The Center for Responsive Politics report that Republicans received over 70% donations from the industry while Democrats, don’t quite touch 40%
- Jimmy Johns donated $168,000 to the republican party in 2024
Bernie Sanders was on the receiving end of the majority of many contributors in 2016 and 2020 election cycle donations.

Gregory Koger, an associate professor of political science at the University of Miami, told Eater why he thought support for Trump in the industry is down: “I think that has to do with the broader problems within the Trump campaign. It’s happening across the board: Republican-leaning donors are not sure where Trump campaign’s money is going.”
Trump has also proposed policies that could harm the fast-food industry like when he threatened to impose tariffs on goods from China, which could raise the cost of ingredients for fast food.
As a long-time McDonald’s supporter and eater, it does him no favors. And not even just McDonald’s, he’s been photographed eating just about every brand of fast food under the sun. And frequently makes fast food pit stops along the campaign trail, just recently buying a round of chicken and milkshakes for customers at Chick-Fil-A.
And according to Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr in a 2023 podcast episode of Triggered: “No one probably eats more of it (McDonald’s), per capita, than Donald Trump.”
Yes, the fast-food industry has traditionally been Republican-leaning, and this years election is no different…but the industry is more concerned than ever about Trump’s rhetoric, and as a result, they are donating less money to Republicans than in previous years.