Trump says AB needs a second chance. Of course that was a paid for advertisement as he sits down with AB for some political $$$$$.
Just another politician...
Trump calls time on Bud Light boycott and says it's paid the price for partnership with Dylan Mulvaney - and says parent company Anheuser-Busch is a 'Great American Brand' that deserves a 'Second Chance'
Trump said Bud Light partnership with trans-influencer Dylan Mulvaney was 'mistake of epic proportions'
He is due to attend a fundraiser organized by Anheuser-Busch InBev lobbyist Jeff Miller next month
AB InBev lost $400 million in sales amid conservative backlash
By BETHAN SEXTON PUBLISHED: 21:46 EST, 6 February 2024 | UPDATED: 02:32 EST, 7 February 2024
Donald Trump has U-turned on his stance over 'woke' Bud Light and suggested the beer deserves a 'second chance' just weeks ahead of a fundraiser organized by a lobbyist for the beer's parent company.
The presidential hopeful called for an end to the Bud Light boycott which was sparked by its disastrous campaign with trans-activist Dylan Mulvaney. The former president said the partnership was a 'mistake of epic proportions' for which a 'very big price was paid.'
But he insisted that parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev was not a 'woke company' as he threatened to release a list of those that are. His comments came ahead of a fundraiser organized by a major Republican lobbyist for the company in March, where tickets are selling for $10,000 each. The event will be attended by dozens of members of Congress, Republican leaders as well as Donald Trump Jr.'
'Anheuser-Busch spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ 65 thousand Americans, of which 1,500 are Veterans, and is a Founding Corporate Partner of Folds of Honor, which provides Scholarships for families of fallen Servicemen & Women,' he wrote on social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.
His comments mark a stark departure from his previous stance in May, when he slammed the makers of Bud Light for pandering to ‘the radical Left,’ Then, Trump backed a conservative author who called the ad campaign ‘a woke, clueless, incredibly dumb miscalculation.’
His climb down comes exactly a month before he is due to meet with AB InBev lobbyist Jeff Miller, a close ally to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is hosting a fundraiser for the presidential hopeful in Washington D.C.
The brewing giant paid Miller's firm $260,000 in 2023, according to lobbying disclosures seen by Politico.
Meanwhile Trump is drowning in more than $76 million of legal fees resulting from various civil and criminal trials. On top of this, he faces the prospect of paying out a further $83 million in defamation damages following E. Jean Carroll's monumental win.
Bud Light is the official beer sponsor of the Super Bowl, but has struggled with a slump in sales since April 2023 when the Mulvaney partnership began with a personalized can. The backlash against the marketing ploy was so great it cost $400million in sales and saw the beer lost its American title. Musician Kid Rock, NFL player Trae Waynes and model Bri Teresi were among the high-profile faces expressing their disapproval, filming themselves shooting cans of the beer.
The fallout led to a devastating stretch for Bud Light, where it suffered repeat double-digit revenue drops on a near-weekly basis. Nationwide backlash 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 after the advertising.
Fans also criticized the company's response to the controversy, where it was seen by some as over-compensating with overtly patriotic advertising to try and right the ship.
As the dip in revenue continued throughout the year, it hurt the profits of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer that produces a large number of beers including Budweiser, Michelob, and Stella Artois.
