Yesterday I wrote about Bud Light’s umpteenth attempt to refurbish its reputation, and I casually noted that Donald Trump–seemingly out of the blue–endorsed the idea of ending the Bud Light boycott and getting back to the important business of drinking piss water.
Unlike beer aficionados, my tastes in the brew are pretty mainstream. I neither love nor hate Bud Light, Michelob Light, or any of the lighter beers. I hate IPAs and like smooth and bland beers like Blue Moon. Stick an orange in it on a hot day, and that’s fine enough for me.
Like many of you, I was surprised and pleased to see the backlash against the company after the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco. It was a huge symbolic victory against the lurch to the Left by big business, and it was the first time I can recall that conservatives ever successfully put a big dent into the ESG/DEI/Woke corporate world.
As Karen noted, Trump’s own about-face seems to have been triggered by its proximity to a fundraiser for his campaign being held at the home of a lobbyist for the company.
And there it is:
Trump, on eve of fundraiser with Anheuser-Busch lobbyist, defends company https://t.co/1eetPBH9Q4
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) February 7, 2024
I am sure there is no connection. When are money and politics mixed?
While I took note of Trump’s imploring Truth Social post recommending we all go back to quaffing AB InBev’s brew, I assumed it would have little effect on actual sales because celebrity endorsements rarely do. They help bolster a brand, but it’s pretty hard to repair a damaged one. But I did wonder if Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters would turn a blind eye to the anger they felt just a day or two ago.
I still think that Trump’s “Truth” won’t matter to Bud Light’s bottom line, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be amused as hell by the about-face that some MAGA enthusiasts have made in the wake of Trump’s post.
Trump’s making a pitch for a company that is likely to throw some real money into his campaign’s coffers makes perfect sense, even if it looks a bit unseemly. But given that many MAGA folks were enthusiastic Bud Light bashers, I was more than a bit surprised to see that they changed their minds on a dime.
That would give me whiplash.
It’s hard to know how many genuine MAGA folks will actually go back to drinking Bud Light, partly because the jokes still write themselves, and nobody likes to be the butt of a joke. It’s even possible that some of these tweets from Trump supporters are tongue-in-cheek themselves.
Certainly, though, I have read more than one actual article endorsing the idea using Trump’s logic.
The funniest tweet of them all, of course, is Bruce Jenner’s immediate endorsement of Trump’s sentiment that Bud Light has paid a high enough price for its transgression.
I mean, come on. Trotting out a transgender person to defend against a boycott that was inspired by Bud’s using a transgender influencer?
that’s a good joke. It writes itself.
“Bud Light screwed up by working with a trans influencer, but they’re not woke. To prove it, here’s a message from OUR trans influencer” https://t.co/SheopHKVkd
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) February 7, 2024
Honestly, this has the flavor of a Twilight Zone or Black Mirror episode.
I genuinely believe that few actual Trump supporters are like members of a cult. That is an easy accusation to make because, well, the people who seem to be Trump “influencers” are, in fact, members of a cult.
If you can think of yourself in the same category as Laura Loomer and feel good about it, then I suggest you get help.
Hell, I suggest she get help. She needs it.
But the average Trump voter supports him because they think he did a pretty good job as president, was robbed during the election, has been treated badly, and that the Establishment deserves a swift kick in the nuts.
Pretty good reasons, actually. I think Ron DeSantis would have been a far superior candidate and that he would do more damage to the Establishment than Trump should he have gotten elected, but others disagree and also want to piss off and scare the people in power.
Good enough.
There is something bizarre, though, about the idea of somebody passionately supporting a boycott one day and passionately supporting the company the next, simply because a politician says so.
If John Solomon’s Twitter poll is any indication, my suspicion that the number of people who will actually start buying Bud Light again will be pretty low.
Does Trump’s defense of Bud Light change your opinion about the embattled beer brand?
A – Yeah, a little.
B – No, not at all.https://t.co/89gD7qbZ1T— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 7, 2024
Vote in the poll yourself and see how many people agree. When I voted it was about 8 to 1 against Trump on this one, and almost all of those people will vote for Trump, given Solomon’s audience.