In news that is sure to ruin few good Double-Doubles, public filings show that supremely popular burger chain In-n-Out donated $25,000 to the California Republican Party. But for those who keep a watchful eye on the political contributions of their favorite food establishments, this is nothing new, the Irvine-based burger chain donated $30,000 in both 2016 and 2017 to the California GOP, according to LAMag. If you’ve ever been a patron of In-n-Out and wondered if their Bible-referencing packaging was reflective of conservative right-wing leaning values, this probably comes as no surprise to you, as according to a pew research poll white, born-again/evangelical Christians (a group In-n-Out owner Lynsi Snyder falls into) tend to vote overwhelmingly Republican.
Unless you’ve been living under a perfectly toasted sponge-dough burger bun, you no doubt have heard that the political landscape in America right now is fiercely divided — which has many people questioning whether they can support an organization that gives money to a party supportive of President Trump’s administration, especially with a truly historic mid-term election looming close.
As you might guess, people of all political affiliations feel all sorts of ways about this. It is the internet after all!
https://twitter.com/detansinn/status/1035167883142279168
I guess I won’t be having any more #InNOut Burgers. https://t.co/GCmq0wTKES
— Karoli 💙 (@Karoli) August 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/NicoleTubiola/status/1034956829506195456
https://twitter.com/C7theEpic/status/1035188407507578880
https://twitter.com/sactodan/status/1035184498651029504
KINDA PISSSSSSED ABOUT #INNOUT DONATING TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. MORE LIKE BETRAYAL I CAN TASTE.
— cyberangel :: 🪽 (@LyonnaLyu) August 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/studio_gal/status/1035172679660199936
The all-Republican Orange County Board of Supervisors, the county to which Irvine is home, just recently voted to join the Trump administration’s lawsuit over California’s immigration laws, according to the Los Angeles Times, and a shrinking margin of victory since 2014, and a national trend towards democrats winning historically republican seats surely has the California Republican party on edge. This year, three historically Republican House seats are on the ballot making this a particularly vital election for both parties.
As customers threaten to go full “animal style” and boycott, the question becomes: Are you willing to part with In-n-Out’s burgers (their fries are nothing to write home over) because of their political contributions? Or is all fair in love and food?
