Donald Trump called for a cease-fire in the culture war over Bud Light’s transgender fiasco – a move that provoked critics to claim he was getting “bought out” by mega-brewer Anheuser-Busch.
The former president took to his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday and declared that Anheuser-Busch was “not a woke company” and that it had already paid a “very big price” for Bud Light’s ad campaign featuring transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Trump added that it was time to move on from outrage over the ads, which he called “a mistake of epic proportions.”
The former president noted that Anheuser-Busch “spends $700 million a year with our great farmers” and employs 65,000 Americans.
Trump urged his followers to give Bud Light a “second chance” and to shun other companies that “are looking to destroy America!”
Trump’s post on Truth Social came just weeks before a top GOP lobbyist for Anheuser-Busch was scheduled to host a fundraiser for the former president’s re-election campaign, according to Politico.
Jeff Miller, the lobbyist who is known to be close to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, announced on the X social media platform that he would be hosting the fundraiser, which is charging attendees $10,000 a head.
Dozens of GOP lawmakers are scheduled to attend — as is the former president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
Don Jr. has defended Anheuser-Busch in the past. In a podcast last year, he noted that the company donated more to Republicans than to Democrats.
Noah Rothman, a writer for National Review, criticized Trump for his embrace of Anheuser-Busch — accusing the 45th president of getting “bought out of the culture wars.”
Rothman noted that both Trump and Anheuser-Busch have a vested financial interest in a truce since the boycott of Bud Light put a dent in the company’s earnings while the Republican National Committee is “struggling financially.”
“Trump and Anheuser-Busch need one another,” Rothman wrote.
“Their mutual admiration is set to cool the tensions between Bud Light and the customers the brand communicated in no uncertain terms it did not want.”
Rothman also took Trump to task for abandoning the “effective and organic effort by cultural conservatives to convince corporate America that social-justice activism doesn’t pay.”
“Not only does it pay, it pays off all the right people,” Rothman wrote.
Trump’s call for peace with Anheuser-Busch was seconded by Caitlyn Jenner, who called Anheuser-Busch an “incredible American company.”
“They made a huge mistake and have paid a large price,” the conservative reality TV star shared to X on Tuesday.
Anheuser-Busch will look to take another step in reclaiming its dominant position among American beer-drinkers during Super Bowl weekend, when it will air a commercial on the most watched television program of the year.
The perennial Super Bowl marketer is bringing back fan-favorite characters the Clydesdales and a Labrador Retriever — a nod to the dogs that starred in earlier commercials during advertising’s biggest night.
In Anheuser-Busch’s nostalgic spot, a snowstorm threatens to derail a delivery of Budweiser to a small-town bar.
But a team of Clydesdales and a Labrador Retriever team up to help Budweiser make the delivery.
Bud Light also inked a deal to return as the official beer of UFC next year.
Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light were UFC’s original beer sponsors more than 15 years ago, UFC CEO Dana White said — adding that he feels UFC, Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light “are very aligned when it comes to our core values.”
This story originally appeared on NYPost
