LIV Golf Tournament Experienced Bud Light 'Shortage' at Trump National

Record crowds at Donald Trump's LIV Golf event last weekend led to a "surge" in sales of Bud Light.

This account from the Washington, D.C. event comes at a time when several people claim cans of Bud Light are being avoided by customers due to the brand's involvement with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. After she was sent a personalized can of Bud Light in early April, parent company Anheuser-Busch has faced an attempted boycott of its products.

The former president remained quiet on the Bud Light backlash for a long time, while his son Donald Trump Jr. pushed for an end to the boycotts. When he finally referenced the issue on Truth Social, Trump said Anheuser-Busch "now understands" that "money talks," referencing its sales figures.

Bud Light was flowing, though, according to reports of the LIV Golf event in the capital last weekend, which was also attended by Trump, and held at his Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., found in Sterling, northern Virginia.

"More fans turned out than anticipated over the three-day LIV Golf event at Trump National, leading to a shortage of Bud Light and other beer on Saturday," wrote journalist A.J. Perez, sharing his Front Office Sports article on "what's behind the apparent surge."

LIV Golf has also faced a turbulent existence so far. Financed by Saudi Arabia, the new tour was created to rival the PGA tour, and it has created a clear divide in golf since its creation.

Bud Light is facing backlash for its advertising partnership with a member of the LGBTQ+ community, while Saudi Arabia is a country where same-sex relationships are illegal and punishable by death. Public executions are still held in Saudi Arabia, and as recently as 2019, five men were reportedly killed for engaging in same-sex acts, according to Out Magazine.

"An unexpected walkup crowd for Saturday's second round at Trump National drank all the Bud Light, and other beer organizers had on hand. They had restocked before Sunday's shotgun start," Perez wrote in his article.

Photos of fans holding cans of Bud Light also angered some conservatives.

Republican influencer Ian Miles Cheong shared a screenshot on Twitter, writing: "This is what they were serving at Trump's golf tournament."

Popular conservative social media user Prison Mitch shared a meme showing Trump at a golf course surrounded by comical caricatures of his supporters. "When you find out they have plenty of Bud Light at the LIV golf tournament," he wrote.

"I'm guessing they either for the beer for free or were even paid to serve it," the news outlet justredpillme wrote.

"Trump himself doesn't drink though," one user pointed out, alluding to Trump's sobriety.

"Smart, I hear it's really cheap now," Matthew L wrote, while conservative influencer Just Mindy said: "Don Jr did tell us to stop the boycott, after all."

A number of people seemed to justify Bud Light's inclusion at the event, despite the ongoing conservative boycott.

"Oh well, the [bad beer] was probably donated," one fan said. "Probably got a hell of a deal on the cost. In fact, they may have even paid him," another added.

Twitter user Condor rationalized the situation from an economic perspective for the former president. "He is a businessman, after all. You would do it too if you were getting Bud Light for 5 cents a can and selling it for 10 dollars," he said.

Update 6/1/23, 6:28 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional context.