JEFFERSON CITY — During the height of the so-called “anti-woke†blowback against Anheuser-Busch for using a transgender influencer to promote Bud Light, two Missouri lawmakers demolished cans of the beer on the Capitol lawn.
A TikTok post from April shows Rep. Aaron McMullen, R-Independence, tossing a can of the beer — underhanded — to Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, who, swinging a baseball bat, crushes the unopened aluminum beverage container in a shower of hoppy foam.
Both of the woke warriors, however, now stand to gain campaign dollars from the company that produced the beer after the brewer contributed $10,000 to the political action committee that raises cash for GOP Senate candidates.
This Bud’s for You @murphyjameym
Schroer is not running in the 2024 election, but McMullen is trying to win a Senate seat representing a suburban Kansas City district now held by Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence.
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He did not respond to requests for comment about whether he’d accept money connected to Anheuser-Busch.
The two lawmakers’ display on the Capitol lawn came on April 20, about two weeks after Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light. Shares of Bud Light’s parent, AB InBev, plunged.
And, over the summer, Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light to become America’s bestselling beer, knocking Bud Light off its throne for the first time in over two decades.
The contribution raises questions about why the company, with more than 4,000 workers in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area, would support lawmakers who have tried to cash in politically by boycotting the beleaguered brand.
An A-B spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Representatives of the company’s political action committee did not return messages.
Schroer, meantime, praised Anheuser-Busch for supporting Republicans in the state and the company’s decision to ax executives connected to the decision to collaborate with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“They must have listened to their blue-collar workers fed up with some executive decisions that impacted one of their brands,†Schroer told the Post-Dispatch. “Like the taste of a cold Busch beer, it’s refreshing to see the executive that doubled down on those idiotic decisions leaving the company, and a renewed focus on beer and less on ‘woke’ left wing policies.â€
Schroer also said he would accept contributions from the company in the future.
“My hope is they have learned from their obvious mistakes and are doing the right thing in concentrating on making a product the public wants, giving back to the communities, honoring our military members and getting rid of any executives that are prioritizing shoving radical anti-American policies down our throats,†he said.
Records show the company has supported both Democrats and Republicans in the Missouri Legislature, including some who are leading critics of transgender rights.
In 2020, for example, Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, received a $1,500 check from the company. Three years later he led the charge to limit medical care for transgender youth.
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, received $2,500 that year. Now running for governor, the hard right conservative voted in favor of the legislation that prohibited physicians from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors who have not already begun treatment.
McMullen, who was elected to the House in 2022, faces a primary challenge in his bid for the 11th Senate District from Joe Nicola, R-Grain Valley.
The winner will take on Rep. Robert Sauls, D-Independence.
Editor’s note: John Rizzo is a Democrat. An earlier online version of this story had the wrong party affiliation.