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Did the GOP back away from Dylan Mulvaney controversy over money? Internet has some wild theories

The NRCC initially seemed to be on board with the calls for a boycott of Bud Light after the brand partnered with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney

MIAMI, FLORIDA: The GOP is being trolled online after the National Republican Congressional Committee quietly deleted a fundraising page Saturday, April 15, which took aim at one of its largest donors.

The NRCC initially seemed to be on board with the calls for a boycott of Bud Light after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. The powerful right-wing committee posted a tweet Saturday morning, April 15, calling for supporters to donate to the NRCC and get a custom drink koozie in return, blatantly mocking the beermaker. However, it wasn't long before the group backpedaled, realizing that Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch is one of its major donors.

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Unexpected U-turn

“Thanks to Dylan Mulvaney, we can all finally admit that Bud Light tastes like water,” the NRCC quipped in a since-deleted tweet posted on Saturday, adding, “With our new koozie’s, you can make sure no one confuses Bud Light with real beer ever again.” However, the post was taken down shortly after and the corresponding fundraising page was also scrapped later in the day.

According to The Daily Beast, the NRCC backpedaled after realizing that Bud Light's parent company is one of the largest donors to the group. The move came shortly after Donald Trump Jr faced backlash for urging to end the boycott of a “conservative-leaning” beer. It's worth noting that Anheuser-Busch and its employees gave the NRCC $464,505 in the 2022 cycle alone.

'They realized they were biting the hand that feeds them'

Speaking to the Daily Beast, a GOP strategist wondered why Republicans would open their wallets again to give to the group. “I assume they 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?” they told the outlet on condition of anonymity. “Bud Light has some idiots in their marketing department who thought this was a good idea,” the strategist continued. “The NRCC has some idiots in their marketing department that thought their response was a good idea. Maybe the ultimate lesson here is to stop letting the marketing geniuses make decisions and run things," they added.

'Maybe the boycott is justified'

Critics on the other side of the political aisle pounced on the opportunity to excoriate the GOP for changing its tune. Some had their own theories about the move.

"The @NRCC quietly deleted tweets and retreated from their efforts to boycott ‘Bud Light’ for partnering with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney when it realized its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, was a major GOP donor, which gave them $464,505 in the 2022 cycle alone," one tweeted. "They are a major GOP donor? Maybe the boycott is justified," another added.

"Dude, Cindy HENSLEY McCain’s family owns Anheuser-Busch. I have just been watching with popcorn…" a comment read, before someone else corrected them, "They don’t own Anheuser Busch. They own the local distributorship in Arizona. Which is quite lucrative." 

"All that did was verify that Republicans can be 'bought,'" a Twitter user insisted. "Republican Party leadership telling people to back off the bud light boycott because they get donor money from AB is why conservatives always lose," another opined

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.