From Newsgroup: alt.beer

Social media users mocked four Democratic lawmakers for a photo in which they posed with bottles of Bud Light, an apparent nod to the controversial brand which recently partnered with self-identified transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) shared a photo of himself and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) enjoying Bud Light in response to a Daily Beast article asserting that the National Republican Congressional Committee backed away from a campaign against Bud Light since the brand’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, donated to Republican candidates in the midterm elections.

https://t.co/CHIAyL8n2Y pic.twitter.com/jpJUgXpNlc

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 16, 2023

Takano infamously failed to answer the question “What Is a Woman?” when Daily Wire host Matt Walsh interviewed him for the blockbuster documentary bearing the same name. The interview ended prematurely when Takano floundered in the face of basic inquiries about human biology and Walsh was abruptly whisked
out of the lawmaker’s office.

Conservatives and other social media commenters continued to enjoy the last laugh over the Democrats’ recent nod to Bud Light. The image depicts the four grinning lawmakers looking toward one another awkwardly with the Bud Light logo clearly visible to the camera.

“Out on the town having the time of my life with a bunch of friends,” Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro remarked. “They’re all just out of frame, laughing too.”

“This is Bud Light’s new target market. Take notes,” comedian Tim Young said. “This photo is more damaging to the brand than Dylan Mulvaney in the
bathtub,” podcast host Gerry Callahan added. “You guys drinking on the job helps us all understand your behavior a bit more,” activist and former congressional candidate Robby Starbuck commented.

Lieu later doubled down on the post by claiming that his intent was to castigate his political rivals. “I mock stupid stuff by MAGA Republicans,” he said. “Data shows that mockery is one of the more effective ways to get
people to stop supporting extremists.”

Bud Light has been reeling for weeks after the partnership with Mulvaney, a biological male who featured his transition to female on TikTok and subsequently landed countless brand deals with leading companies. Share
prices for Anheuser-Busch InBev took a considerable hit after the partnership went public: the firm was worth $132 billion on March 31, the day before the partnership was revealed, and plummeted to $113 billion as of April 17.

Sales for draft beer products produced by Anheuser-Busch fell as much as 50% in the immediate aftermath of the campaign as drinkers chose alternative brews. Distributors and prominent bars across the country reported that consumer interest in Bud Light has plummeted as consumers reacted to the company’s partnership with Mulvaney.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement at the end of last week in response to the controversy but did not make mention of Mulvaney, transgenderism, or offer an apology to offended customers. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” the executive said. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”

Shapiro responded to the statement by observing that Whitworth addressed
“zero of the problems with hiring a man cosplaying as a woman to sell cheap beer to a predominantly male audience.” The damage control indeed seems to have failed: public derision of Bud Light from conservatives has endured in the days since the statement was released, with country music star Brantley Gilbert smashing a can of the brew to the ground at a concert over the weekend.

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Let's go Brandon!

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