‘Not a Woke Company’: Trump Says Bud Light’s Owner Should Be Given Second Chance

Bud Light has returned to its more traditional, sports-related advertising.

Bud Light, made by Anheuser-Busch, sits on a store shelf in Miami, Fla., on July 27, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump said Bud Light’s parent company is not “woke” and suggested that it “deserves a second chance.”

“The Bud Light ad was a mistake of epic proportions, and for that a very big price was paid,” President Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Feb. 6, referring to Bud Light’s decision last year to produce a customized beer can featuring the face of transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. The promotion led to a sustained boycott of the brand, with Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev losing billions of dollars in revenue.

“Anheuser-Busch is not a Woke company,” the former president added. “Anheuser-Busch spends $700 Million a year with our GREAT Farmers, employ[s] 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. They’ve raised over $30,000,000 and given 44,000 Scholarships.

“Anheuser-Busch is a Great American Brand that perhaps deserves a Second Chance? What do you think? Perhaps, instead, we should be going after those companies that are looking to DESTROY AMERICA!”

While asserting that Anheuser-Busch is not a “woke” company, the former President said he can name “plenty that are.”

“[I] am building a list, and might just release it for the World to see,” President Trump wrote. “Why not, the Radical Left does it viciously to well-run, Conservative companies—and people! Very nasty, but it’s the way they play the game!”

In May last year, the former president joined conservative criticism of Anheuser-Busch, while promoting the “The Great Patriot BUY-Cott Book” by Wayne Allyn Root.

“It’s time to beat the Radical Left at their own game,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Money does talk, Anheuser-Busch now understands that.”

Bud Light has pivoted back to its more traditional, sports-related advertising. It is now the “official beer partner” of the mixed martial arts league UFC after a multiyear deal was signed late last year.

The brand has created a 60-second commercial dubbed “Easy Night Out” that will air during the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. The advertisement centers around a group of friends who release a genie from a bottle of Bud Light.

In January, Anheuser-Busch agreed to partner with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for events through 2028. Corona Cero, AB InBev’s zero-alcohol beer, will be the global beer sponsor of the Olympic Games.

“Beer and sports are better together, so we are proud to be the first beer sponsor for the Olympics at the Worldwide Olympic Partner level,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with the IOC, and activating at the 2024, 2026, and 2028 games.”

Anheuser-Busch also signed a sponsorship deal last month with the U.S. Olympic team for its Michelob Ultra light beer brand. The brewing company will sponsor Team USA at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, the 2026 Winter Olympics (Milan-Cortina 2026), and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Team USA joins Michelob ULTRA’s incredible roster of sports partners including the NBA, WNBA, PGA, U.S. Soccer Federation, Mexican Football Federation, Copa America, and Professional Bull Riders, all of which share our passion for quality, excellence, and celebrating an active and balanced lifestyle,” Anheuser-Busch U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement.

Modelo Especial, owned by Constellation Brands in the United States, overtook Bud Light as the best-selling beer in the United States in June last year.

In October 2023, Anheuser-Busch reported a 13.5 percent loss for its third-quarter revenue in the United States.

Bud Light sales dropped by nearly 30 percent year over year for the week ending Jan. 20, 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, according to Fox Business, citing data from Bump Williams Consulting.