This whole thing is stupid. Anyone making a big deal out of this and refusing to drink a beer they like over this is stupid. Maybe if they had made a central campaign of it, but it's a pretty minor event.
That said...WTF is Bud Light thinking? An awful lot of people that drink Bud Light have one stupid friend. And now, they think twice about stocking up on Bud Light at your party or ordering at the bar just so it isn't a thing.
Only the Very Online or people in extremely heterogeneous communities live their lives where every interaction is an opportunity to lay down the lines of of their chosen virtue, and if you have an obnoxious anti-trans friend, or one who voted for Obama, you need to disown them and publicly shame them. "If my brother in law isn't comfortable with Bud Light featuring a trans person then they aren't welcome at my party, and if that means I don't see my sister anymore, so be it!" just isn't the way most people live their lives. Most people specifically DON'T want to live that way. It's a posture of people that are one way or another privileged.
It's not just progressives that are so inclined or so privileged...we were in a small town in GA a couple years ago, and the only restaurant/sports bar in town had cancelled their NFL package because of the NFL being so woke
Most people don't want this drama pressed into their lives, dictated by the single most annoying person they interact with. There won't be a massive "principled" anti-Budweiser movement that actually matters, but I do think there may be residual effects of people not wanting everything thing in their lives turned into a culture war.
Two thirds of people think corporations should stay out of political stances. That's a stronger majority than any particular political philosophy, and includes half of Democrats. It's not because they disagree with the stances, it's because people resent their beer or their chicken sandwich being a political statement and invitation to debate.
Obviously, there are some upstart brands where it can pay dividends, but why on earth a brand like Bud Light feels it benefits by wading into this area is insane. It seems like its a lot more driven by the self interest of someone who wants "Got a trans on the bud light can" on their resume than anything that benefits either the brand or meaningful social justice.
