Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis announced Thursday a state inquiry into Anheuser-Busch over their poor stock performance and promotion of gender ideology.
DeSantis told Fox News host Jesse Watters that he called on the board of the Florida pension fund, the State Board Administration, to unload all their Anheuser-Busch stock. The Florida governor said that the beer brand’s flailing stock has hurt the state’s workers.
“Since we do have these shares, we believe that when you take your eye off the ball like that, you’re not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders,” DeSantis said. “So we’re going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it is something that could lead to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund. Because at the end of the day, there’s got to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.” (RELATED: Meet Bud Light’s New Transgender Brand Ambassador)
#BREAKING: Ron DeSantis tells officials to look into fiduciary violations by Anheuser-Busch, says a lawsuit is possible
“There’s gotta be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.” pic.twitter.com/Sd5YzmSPHb
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) July 21, 2023
Anhueser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Bud Light, has seen its stock plummet in the months following its partnership with Mulvaney. On March 31, the day before Mulvaney posted a photo showcasing a personalized Bud Light can provided by the company, Anhueser-Busch InBev stock sold at $66.73, according to Yahoo Finance. The stock sold at $58.73 on July 20, according to the outlet.
“Well, we had over $50 million worth of InBev stock in the pension, of course, Florida’s pension fund is about $180 billion. So, it’s a pretty big endeavor, but it has absolutely hurt teachers, and it has absolutely hurt other pensioners,” DeSantis told Watters.
“When you start pursuing a political agenda at the expense of your shareholders, that’s not just impacting very wealthy people. It impacts hardworking people who were police officers, firefighters, and teachers in terms of the pension,” he said.
Bud Light’s sales have cratered amid the ongoing conservative backlash against the brand. The beer fell from the 1st to 4th most requested in bars and restaurants, according to Newsweek. The beer’s sales plummeted 23.6% over the July 4th holiday compared to 2022 figures. Rumors circulated around social media that retailing giant Costco will no longer restock the brand due to poor sales performance.