The National Republican Congressional Committee added to the growing conservative criticisms waged against Bud Light this weekend and then quietly retracted their remarks.
On Saturday, the official NRCC Twitter page deleted a tweet directly attacking one of its largest donors, Anheuser-Busch -- the parent company of Bud Light.
In the since-deleted tweet, the NRCC criticised Bud Light for partnering with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney and attempted to fundraise with “limited edition” drink koozies.
“Thanks to Dylan Mulvaney, we can all finally admit that Bud Light tastes like water,” the NRCC said in the tweet, which was captured by The Daily Beast. “With our new koozie’s, you can make sure no one confuses Bud Light with real beer ever again.”
The tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted on Saturday morning and the corresponding fundraising page now redirects to a ‘Stand with House Republicans” contribution page. The earlier fundraising page claimed: “Woke companies making you feel like drinking? Then this limited-edition koozie is perfect for you! Just chip in $10 to CLAIM YOUR LIMITED-EDITION KOOZIE!”
The Independent has contacted both the NRCC and Anheuser-Busch for comment.
Notably, Anheuser-Busch is one of the NRCC’s major donors, which The Daily Beast cites as a potential reason for the tweets immediate disappearance. In the 2022 cycle, Anheuser-Busch and its employees gave the NRCC a whopping $464,505, the publication reported.
One GOP operative told the outlet that they assumed the NRCC “backtracked because they realized they were biting the hand that feeds them, and as soon as word gets around about that, why would anyone else give them big money in the future?”
Earlier this month, Anheuser-Busch rolled out their advertising campaign with Dylan Mulvaney in a series of Instagram videos. One video featured Ms Mulvaney alongside a customised Budweiser can with her face on it as she told viewers that she just celebrated her 365th day of “womanhood.”
The partnership has enraged conservatives, prompting some to even film videos of themselves destroying their Budweiser products.
While many others praised the beer company for the move, Anheuser-Busch issued a statement on Saturday about the divisiveness of the advertisements.
“We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere,” wrote CEO Brendon Whitworth. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Left-leaning pundits on Twitter lambasted the remarks from Mr Whitworth as “pathetic” and claimed he was “caving to these hateful bigots is what divides our country.”
