Donald Trump Jr. defended beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch on his podcast Thursday, urging listeners not to continue boycotting the company.
Trump claimed that the company was too "iconic" to continue boycotting, and that the executives have learned a lesson.
"So here’s the deal. Anheuser-Busch totally sh*t the bed with this Dylan Mulvaney thing. I’m not, though, for destroying an American, an iconic company for something like this," Trump Jr. said.
The beer company has faced intense criticism in recent weeks following the announcement it was partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
"When I actually look into it, I'm not gonna blame the whole company for the inaction or the stupidity of someone in a marketing campaign that got woke as hell," Trump said of the collaboration on Thursday.
Trump cited Anheuser-Busch's record of donating slightly more to conservative politicians than liberal ones as reason to keep buying their beer.
"The company itself doesn’t participate in the same leftist nonsense as the other big conglomerates," Trump said. "Frankly, they don’t participate in the same woke garbage that other people in the beer industry actually do, who are significantly worse offenders when I looked into it. But if they do this again, then it’s on them! Then, screw them."
Mulvaney, a trans activist and social media influencer who gained prominence when given an opportunity to interview President Biden about LGBTQ issues in 2022, revealed earlier this month that the beer company sent packs of Bud Light with her face printed on the cans as part of an ad for the beer company’s March Madness contest and as a way to celebrate a full year of "girlhood."
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth published a lengthy statement Friday, hoping to tamp down the animosity aimed at Bud Light and its parent company.
"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," Whitworth said. "My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another.
He added, "As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage."
The statement received criticism from both sides of the transgender issue, with social media users asking what the message was supposed to be.
