Just when it seemed like conservatives have stopped freaking out over Bud Light and moved on to a never-ending list of boycotts that now includes the Barbie movie, CMT, Garth Brooks, and probably a whole bunch we’re forgetting, Ron DeSantis is reportedly threatening to sue the beer makers over a single, innocuous social media video featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The Florida governor and flailing presidential candidate stopped by Fox News on Thursday night where he confirmed to Jesse Watters that he’s pushing the state’s pension fund manager to pursue legal action against Bud Light’s parent company for harming shareholders with the Mulvaney campaign.
While CNN, who initially reported DeSantis’ plans, notes that it’s “unclear what legal recourse the state might have to challenge a multinational corporation’s business decisions,” the governor doubled down on his threat while talking to Watters.
DeSantis: We are going to launch an inquiry about bud light and it could lead to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund pic.twitter.com/iAkaknc0fm
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 21, 2023
Via The Daily Beast:
“We believe that when you take your eye off the ball like that, you are not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders,” he said.
“So we are going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund,” he continued. “Because at the end of the day, there have to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.”
If DeSantis follows through on his threat, Bud Light’s parent company would be the second massive business that the Florida governor has gone to war with. He’s currently locked in a fight with The Walt Disney Company, one of the biggest employers and sources of tax revenue in his state, and it hasn’t been going well for him. Even members of his own party have called out DeSantis for retaliating against the entertainment giant after it opposed the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“Fundamentally, it’s not small government,” Asa Hutchinson told The View back in May. “It’s not Republican. It’s not conservative to say we’re going to use the power of government to go after a business that we disagree with.”
(Via CNN, The Daily Beast)