Did Wendy's, Olive Garden and 13 other restaurant companies named in a social media post donate to Donald Trump in the 2024 election? No, that's not true: Election law prevents companies from donating directly to candidates, though they can donate via their political action committees. Also, employees of a company can make individual donations. None of the political action committees for the restaurants listed in the social media post donated to Trump in the 2024 election, according to federal election reports publicly available as of this writing.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) where it was published on Instagram on December 1, 2024. It opened with the caption:
#boycott
Under a headline that said, "Restaurants to AVOID who donated to Trump," the post listed 15 well-known restaurant chains. This is what the post looked on Instagram like at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Tue Dec 3 17:09:46 2024 UTC)
According to election campaign records, employees at Applebee's, IHOP, Panera Bread, McDonald's and Olive Garden donated more to Kamala Harris than Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Employees at Wendy's donated more to Trump than Harris in the 2024 election.
Political action committees for Wendy's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Chili's, McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts donated more to Republican candidates than Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle for races other than the presidential contest.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website (archived here), campaigns are prohibited from accepting contributions from "corporations, including nonprofit corporations (although funds from a corporate separate segregated fund are permissible."
Lead Stories is breaking down the list of restaurants in the post individually to show whether their PACs, CEOs or employees donated to Trump, using data found on the Federal Election Commission website and on Open Secrets (archived here), a research group tracking money in U.S. politics.
Applebee's and IHOP
Applebee's and IHOP are both owned by parent company Dine Brands. According to a search (archived here) on Open Secrets, Applebee's International did not make any contributions to federal candidates in the 2024 election cycle.
Dine Brands Global did not make any contributions to federal candidates but individuals employed by the company donated $9,527 to Harris and $2,543 to Trump, as a search on Open Secrets (archived here) shows. The CEO of Dine Brands is John Peyton and he donated $3,000 to Harris, according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Outback Steakhouse
The Bloomin' Brands political action committee, parent company to Outback Steakhouse, did not make any contributions to federal candidates in the 2024 election cycle, according to the FEC website (archived here). Elizabeth Daly, director of media and community relations at Bloomin' Brands, denied the claim to Lead Stories via email on December 4, 2024:
Neither Bloomin' Brands nor its PAC donated to Donald Trump.
Wendy's
The Wendy's organization did not make any contributions to Trump. Individuals employed by the company donated $5,659 to Harris and $27,890 to Trump, according to Open Secrets (archived here). Wendy's Co PAC did not make any contributions to Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets (archived here) and the FEC website (archived here). The PAC donated $56,000 to Republican candidates and $30,000 to Democratic Candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets.
Heidi Schauer, vice president of corporate affairs for Wendy's, told Lead Stories via email on December 3, 2024, "neither The Wendy's Company nor its Political Action Committee (PAC) endorses or engages in presidential races and the Company does not make political contributions." She continued:
The Wendy's PAC is a separate nonpartisan fund supported by voluntary, personal contributions made by franchisees and eligible employees and the PAC did not support any candidate in the 2024 presidential election, nor any elections prior to that.
Chick-fil-A
According to the FEC website, (archived here) Chick-fil-A's PAC made contributions in 1996 and none since then and was been "administratively terminated." Open Secrets (archived here) reports "this PAC did not exist in the 2023-2024 election cycle" (archived here) under the "Summary" section for the 2024 election cycle. The CEO of Chick-fil-A, Andrew Cathy, did not make any political contributions in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here).
A spokesperson for Chick-fil-A told Lead Stories via email on December 4, 2024, the claim is false:
We are a restaurant company and do not have a political agenda. Chick-fil-A does not have a political action committee (PAC) and does not contribute to political candidates.
White Castle
According to the FEC website (archived here) the White Castle Systems PAC did not donate to any federal candidates in the 2024 election cycle. CEO Lisa Ingram donated $5,000 to Harris and did not donate to Trump according to the FEC website (archived here).
Taco Bell
The Taco PAC did not donate to Donald Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here). The PAC donated $23,200 to Republican candidates and $0 to Democratic Candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Kentucky Fried Chicken
The Association of Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchisees Inc. PAC did not donate to Trump in the 2024 election cycle, according to the FEC website (archived here). It did donate to JD Vance for Senate in 2023, before he was Trump's vice presidential nominee. According to Open Secrets (archived here) the PAC donated $190,400 to Republican candidates and $7,500 to Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle.
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut's parent company Yum! Brands did not make any contributions to Trump in 2024. Individual employees of the company donated $21,938 to Harris and $10,563 to Trump, according to Open Secrets (archived here). The Yum! PAC did not donate to Trump according to a search on Open Secrets (archived here) and the FEC website (archived here). The Yum! PAC donated $22,500 to Republican candidates and $18,000 to Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets.
Chili's
Chili's parent company Brinker International Political Action Committee did not donate to Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here) and Open Secrets (archived here). The Brinker PAC donated $9,000 to Republican candidates and $2,500 to Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets.
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen made no federal political contributions in 2024 and employees of the company did not donate to Trump according to Open Secrets (archived here). Affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway, Dairy Queen's parent company, donated $415,361 to Harris and $215,418 to Trump according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Panera Bread
Panera Bread parent company JAB Holding Company did not make any federal political contributions in the 2024 election cycle and employees of the company donated $28,361 to Harris and $9,419 to Trump according to Open Secrets (archived here).
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation did not make any federal contributions in the 2024 election cycle. Employees of the company donated $77,223 to Harris and $33,530 to Trump according to Open Secrets (archived here). The McDonald's PAC did not donate to Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here). The McDonald's PAC donated $132,000 to Republican candidates and $74,300 to Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Olive Garden
Olive Garden parent company Darden did not make any federal political contributions in 2024. Employees of the organization donated $12,337 to Harris and $5,071 to Trump according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Brittany Baron, public relations and communications with Olive Garden, told Lead Stories via email on December 3, 2024, that the claim was false:
We don't know where this information came from, but it is incorrect. Our company does not donate to presidential candidates.
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts PAC did not donate to Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here). Dunkin' Donuts is owned by Roark Capital Group through its subsidiary Inspire Brands. Roark Capital Group CEO Neal Aronson did not donate to Trump in the 2024 election cycle according to the FEC website (archived here). The Dunkin' Brands PAC donated $65,000 to Republican candidates and $70,000 to Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle according to Open Secrets (archived here).
Other Lead Stories fact checks about Donald Trump can be found here and the 2024 election can be found here.
