During a Monday evening interview, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasted Bud Light — arguing that conservatives need to keep up the pressure on parent company Anheuser-Busch, which has been facing a boycott after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
While it is clear that a significant amount of Bud Light’s customer base is conservative, and data from OpenSecrets shows that Anheuser-Busch employees donate more money to Republican candidates than Democrats, the advertising team for Bud Light apparently thought it was a good idea to partner with a controversial TikTok influencer. In response, conservatives and other critics of the radical left’s gender ideology have been boycotting the company’s products.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth attempted to do damage control on Friday, sending out a weak letter trying to pander to conservatives without actually acknowledging that they had made a mistake or apologizing for partnering with Mulvaney. Critics have described the statement as “manipulative” and “absurd.”
The closest the statement came to addressing the issue was two sentences out of several paragraphs: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Some Republicans have come out and said that the apology, along with a new commercial that once again pandered to conservatives, is enough to end the boycott — but DeSantis doesn’t agree.
In the interview with political commentator Benny Johnson, DeSantis stated that the company had lost him as a customer. He also argued that consumers need to “make our voice heard” against these woke companies to make them feel the consequences of signing on to the radical left’s agenda and disrespecting their customer base.
“Why would you want to drink Bud Light?” the Florida governor asked. “I mean like honestly, that’s like them rubbing our faces in it and it’s like these companies that do this, if they never have any response, they’re just gonna keep doing it.”
“So, if you as a consumer are like … ‘yeah, they’re doing that, but I’m just gonna keep drinking it anyways,’ well, then they’re gonna keep doing it,” DeSantis added. “So I think we have power as consumers to make our voice heard, and not in every company because sometimes conservative consumers aren’t going to make a dent in some companies.”
“This one is one if you don’t have conservative beer drinkers, you’re gonna feel that and so you know, I think it’s a thing,” DeSantis continued. “Some of these controversies that come up, and people can kind of just say, ‘oh, well it’s kind of a one off, yeah, it was stupid to do,’ but it’s part of a larger thing where corporate America is trying to change our country. Trying to change policy, trying to change culture, and you know, I’d rather be governed by we the people than woke companies and so I think pushback is in order across the board including with Bud Light.”
Asked about whether he would ever drink Bud Light again, the Florida governor responded, “No, I don’t think so.”
EXCLUSIVE: Gov. DeSantis On Bud Light Boycott:
"Why would you want to drink Bud Light?
If we don't push back they're gonna keep doing it. If you don't have conservative beer drinkers, they're gonna feel that.
It's a righteous. Pushback is in order.
I'll never drink Bud again" pic.twitter.com/tIOI1W8c1J
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 17, 2023
