Donald Trump Jr. says boycotts of Bud Light should end, telling his fans on Rumble the company’s conservative credentials are solid and the outrage over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was unjustified.
Bud Light — and its parent company Anheuser-Busch — have faced a firestorm of controversy from many in their core audience after using Mulvaney in its marketing.
“We looked into the political giving and lobbying history of Anheuser-Busch. And guess what? They actually support Republicans,” said the former first son on Rumble.
“Last cycle their employees and their PAC gave about 60 percent to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. That’s literally almost unheard of in corporate America, where it’s really easy to go woke, where they do so constantly, where there’s a consequence to actually being a conservative. So 60/40 to the conservative side is kind of a big deal.”
Nobody at the senior level of the company had been aware of the marketing campaign, Trump Jr. said, touting their support for recent high profile GOP candidates like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“Anheuser-Busch totally s—t the bed with this Dylan Mulvaney thing. I’m not, though, for destroying an American and iconic company for something like this,” he said. “I think sometimes we do have the tendency of shooting first and aiming second, not looking into the details.”
While Mulvaney has now become a popular brand ambassador for a number of companies, the influencer’s advocacy on behalf of Bud Light was a bridge too far for many conservatives. In the days after Mulvaney’s first Instagram campaign for the beer, Anheuser-Busch lost billions of dollars in value.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth said in flat apology Friday “Our Responsibility To America.
