In the Bible, Proverbs 13:20 contains some sage advice: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
What happens when fools form a partnership? It seems even more negative results are generated.
In a current media story, two troubled corporations teamed up to promote a noble cause. Unfortunately, the segment became kind of a cynical commercial for two damaged brands, the messaging undermined by the infamous reputations the companies earned.
On Monday, Fox News allowed a segment about a worthwhile charitable organization to mutate into an ad for Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products.
It’s hard to know which brand, Fox News or Bud Light, is more toxic right now.
It was even worse when drinking Budweiser was conflated with patriotism.
“Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy was talking to guest Dan Rooney, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves and the founder and CEO of Folds of Honor, which provides support for the families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.
“So, Dan, as people look in on this Fourth of July weekend, how can they help you help other families like the Katzenbergs?” Doocy asked, referring to a family aided by the charitable organization.
“Thirteen years ago I reached out to this company, Anheuser-Busch, and they said, ‘Hey, we believe in you,'” Rooney said.
“And in its core, Folds is about believing in people so they believe in themselves. And Anheuser-Busch did that for me,” he continued. “And we kicked off 13 years of a partnership with them. They’ve donated $22 million.
“We’ve got awesome new products here coming out, so people literally can crack a cold Budweiser, a Bud Light, and celebrate their freedoms, but also provide educational scholarships to the military and first-responder families who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy.
“And that’s a great, easy way to say I love my country, is crack a cold Budweiser and support a military or first-responder family.”
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Fox News has suffered a significant loss of viewership and prestige since the firing of top-rated host Tucker Carlson. The last thing the embattled network needs is another reason for conservatives to stop watching.
Yet Fox handed conservatives another reason. By explicitly boosting Bud Light, the network waded into another controversy that only reinforced perceptions about its lack of conservative principles.
Fox News had done a decent job of covering the disastrous fallout of Anheuser-Busch’s decision this spring to partner with transgender social media figure Dylan Mulvaney. With headlines such as “Bud Light’s Woes Show No Signs of Slowing as Critics Pan New Ad Featuring Super Bowl Champ,” it definitely has not been favorable coverage for the beer company.
But on Monday, the network allowed for basically an ad for Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch brands to be pushed.
Conservative Twitter user Rogan O’Handley, who uses the handle “DC Draino,” slammed the move.
“I haven’t watched 1 minute of Fox News since they fired Tucker Carlson,” he said. “Now they’re doing Bud Light commercials. Nothing but CNN with a blue background.”
I haven’t watched 1 minute of Fox News since they fired Tucker Carlson
Now they’re doing *Bud Light commercials*
Nothing but CNN with a blue backgroundhttps://t.co/gTCeAQsfwe
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 3, 2023
He also offered advice on how to support families in need without boosting Anheuser-Busch and its “environmental, social and governance” principles.
“Cut out the ESG middleman and donate directly to Folds of Honor directly here,” O’Handley posted, sharing the link.
Cut out the ESG middleman and donate directly to Folds of Honor directly here:https://t.co/CZbBXg8eSq
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 3, 2023
Folds of Honor is doing good work. It makes sense Rooney would try to honor a longstanding relationship that provided so much support to his organization.
But Anheuser-Busch is no longer the iconic all-American company it was before its sale to Belgium’s InBev in 2008.
Despite the Mulvaney backlash, AB InBev has not apologized for pushing the radical LGBT agenda in its marketing and has even doubled down by sponsoring obscene “pride” events.
Buying Budweiser and Bud Light gives profits to the globalist conglomerate, of which Folds of Honor gets just a cut. Rooney would be better served by promoting direct donations to the charity instead of trying to boost sales of Anheuser-Busch products.
Fox News was stupid to allow the interview to turn into a sales pitch. Tying support for our armed forces to Bud Light just gave the impression the network and Anheuser-Busch were using veterans like props to repair their tattered reputations.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.