Donald Trump has been accused of selling out to brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev by calling for an end to the Bud Light boycott.
The ex-president is hosting an upcoming fundraiser hosted by a company lobbyist and owned up to $5 million worth of stock as recently as April.
Trump declared that Bud Light deserved a “second chance,” nearly a year after a single TikTok video by transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney featuring a branded beer can was enough to send right-wing drinkers into a frenzy.
He wrote on social media that the video was a “mistake of epic proportions” for which a “very high price was paid” as sales plunged 17 percent in three months.
His comments came weeks before a March 6 fundraiser organized by a major corporate lobbyist where tickets were sold for $10,000 each. This led to one conservative media outlet saying the former president had been “bought out of the culture wars” by the brewery.
Donald Trump has been accused of selling out to brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev by calling for an end to the Bud Light boycott
Bud Light sales plummeted in early April 2023 due to a conservative backlash after the brand sent the transgender influencer a commemorative can
This week, Trump insisted that Anheuser-Busch InBev was not a “woke company” and threatened to release a list of those who believed it was.
Conservative media outlet National Review accused Trump of being “bought out of the culture wars” through the brewery’s fundraising campaign.
It noted that Trump's campaign was strapped for cash compared to President Joe Biden's extensive fundraising and desperately needed the additional millions. The event will be attended by dozens of members of Congress, Republican leaders and his son Donald Trump Jr.
“Trump’s benevolent overture — one that seems conspicuously shaped by the brand itself — may not have been inspired entirely by his generosity,” it said.
“Rather, it was probably a prerequisite to unlocking the brand’s generosity.”
Trump and AB InBev “need each other,” it said, and their “mutual admiration” would ease tensions between the brewery and its right-wing drinkers.
In return, Trump and the Republican National Committee would get the donations they need after “spending disproportionate sums on activities unrelated to electing candidates.”
Jeff Miller, a Republican lobbyist close to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, announced the fundraiser on February 2, just days before Trump's call for a ceasefire
Tickets for the event at an undisclosed location in Washington DC with Donald Jr. headlining start at $1,000 and go up to $10,000
Trump is also drowning in more than $76 million in legal fees from various civil and criminal cases and faces $83 million in defamation damages following E. Jean Carroll's court victory.
“Everyone wins—everyone except those who have supported the effective and organic efforts of cultural conservatives to convince corporate America that social justice is not worth it,” the media outlet charged.
Jeff Miller, a Republican lobbyist close to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, announced the fundraiser on February 2, just days before Trump's call for a ceasefire.
“Now is the time to unite for America’s future.” Join us on March 6 as we stand with Donald Trump to revitalize our country’s leadership and chart a course for renewed domestic strength. and abroad,” he said.
Tickets for the event at an undisclosed location in Washington, D.C. with Donald Jr. headlining start at $1,000 and go up to $10,000.
AB InBev paid Miller's firm $260,000 in 2023, according to lobbying revelations.
In fact, Trump and his family have been loyal supporters of Bud Light throughout its tumultuous ten months, even though this is the first time he has been fired from the bench.
While his rivals like Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, as well as his former vice president Michael Pence, relentlessly criticized the brand, he remained largely silent.
All he got up to was in May when he criticized the makers of Bud Light for aligning themselves with the “radical left.”
Trump wrote on social media that the Mulvaney video was a “mistake of epic proportions” for which a “very high price” was paid as sales collapsed
This may have something to do with the fact that he owned between $1 million and $5 million worth of AB InBev shares under “DJT Trust – Investment Account #2” on his financial disclosure form last year.
It is unknown whether Trump has sold the shares since then.
Donald Jr. has been vocal in his defense of Bud Light since the boycott began, pointing out that the brand has donated more to Republicans than Democrats and is an “iconic” brand that shouldn't be “destroyed for something like this.”
“Frankly, they don't engage in the same woke garbage that other people in the beer industry actually do, who are significantly worse offenders when I look into it,” he said in a podcast last April.
Trump eventually joined his son in praising the brewer's virtues in words he would have used to describe himself.
“Anheuser-Busch spends $700 million annually on our great farmers, employs 65,000 Americans, 1,500 of them veterans, and is a founding partner of Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of fallen soldiers,” he wrote.
“They have raised over $30,000,000 and awarded 44,000 scholarships.” “Anheuser-Busch is a great American brand that perhaps deserves a second chance?”
'What do you think? Maybe we should instead target the companies that want to DESTROY AMERICA!'
A single TikTok video from transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney holding a branded beer can was enough to send right-wing drinkers into a frenzy.
However, he insisted that parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev was not a “woke” company
Bud Light is the official beer sponsor of the Super Bowl, but has struggled with declining sales since April 2023, when the Mulvaney saga began with a personalized can.
The backlash to the marketing ploy was so great that it cost $400 million in sales and the beer lost its American title.
Musician Kid Rock, NFL player Trae Waynes and model Bri Teresi were among the celebrity faces who expressed their disapproval and filmed themselves shooting beer cans.
The impact wreaked havoc on Bud Light, as the company repeatedly suffered double-digit sales declines almost every week.
The nationwide reaction to the company's marketing even led to some stores selling the beer for less than water, as the parent company lost a staggering $6 billion in market capital in just six days of advertising.
Fans also criticized the company's response to the controversy, which was seen by some as overcompensating with overtly patriotic advertising to try and right the ship.
As the sales decline continued throughout the year, it hit profits at Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, which produces many beers including Budweiser, Michelob and Stella Artois.
Opinion poll
Does Bud Light deserve a second chance?
- Yes, 122 votes
- No 316 votes
In August, just a few months after the Mulvaney ad ran in April, it was reported that Anheuser-Busch InBev had suffered a staggering $390 million drop in U.S. sales.
That same month, Modelo Especial officially triumphed over Bud Light as America's best-selling beer and Bud Light volume fell 26.7 percent.
Meanwhile, sales per 100 liters, a key measure of beer sales, fell to 13.5 percent in the third quarter.
Sales to U.S. retailers also fell 17 percent in the third quarter, largely due to a decline in demand for Bud Light, the company reported.
In November, Benoit Garbe, the company's chief marketing officer, announced he was stepping down after two years amid declining sales.
Bud Light also came under fire from Mulvaney, who criticized the brand for not reaching out during the backlash.
“I was waiting for the brand to contact me, but they never did.” “I was afraid to leave my house,” Mulvaney told her Instagram followers.
“It is worse for a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly support them than not to hire a trans person at all.”
“Because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.” Working with us should not be controversial or divisive.
“I was ridiculed in public, I was persecuted and I felt a loneliness that I would not wish on anyone.”
Since then, Mulvaney has appeared on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. The magazine praised her for withstanding the fallout, and Mulvaney repeated her accusations that the beer company had thrown her to the wolves.
Bud Light was also criticized by Mulvaney herself, who accused the brand of failing to stand by her in the anger
Mulvaney earned $2 million in 2023 from endorsement work, landed deals with Nike and Mac, and recently appeared at the Golden Globes
In 2023, she earned $2 million from endorsement work, landed deals with Nike and Mac, and recently performed at the Golden Globes.
AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris said the company had focused its U.S. marketing on more traditional markets such as college football and concerts following the controversy.
In October, the company announced a multi-year partnership that will make Bud Light the official beer of the UFC mixed martial arts organization. Bud Light was one of the original sponsors of the UFC 15 years ago.
The beer company announced a $3 million scholarship project for families of fallen or disabled first responders in America, another longtime partner of Anheuser-Busch.