Why Donald Trump Mug Shot is Now On Beer Cans

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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The "Ultra Right" beer company's founder and CEO, Seth Weathers, says that sales for his limited-edition can featuring Donald Trump's mug shot are like nothing he's ever seen before.

Weather, the former director of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign in Georgia, launched "Conservative Dad's Ultra Right Beer" earlier this year in response to a controversy surrounding Bud Light. This week, he launched a limited-edition can of the beverage featuring Trump's mug shot, which was taken in Georgia last month when the former president was booked at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail.

Trump faces 13 counts in the state in connection with an alleged conspiracy to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which Joe Biden won. He's been charged along with 18 co-defendants, including his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, his former White House chief of staff.

Donald Trump
The founder of the "Ultra Right" beer company has launched a limited edition of cans featuring Trump's mug shot (inset) taken in Atlanta last month when he was arraigned in the Georgia election interference case. Getty Images

Weathers' limited-edition can, dubbed "Conservative Dad's Revenge," will be offered on the beer's website for about two weeks or less, and part of the proceeds will go toward a Republican legal defense fund in Georgia. A six-pack will be priced at $25, plus shipping.

"I wanted to raise funds for my friends in Georgia who are being prosecuted by the low IQ communists in the Fulton DA's office," Weathers told Newsweek.

The website says: "EACH SALE DEFENDS CONSERVATIVES AGAINST THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL PROSECUTION BY THE COMMUNIST FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY!"

It adds that "10% of sales will be donated to the Georgia GOP Defense Fund and the David Shafer Legal Defense Fund to defend Georgia's Trump electors against unjust political prosecution." Part of the indictment in the Georgia case concerns a plan to replace the state's 16 presidential electors with an unauthorized alternative slate.

The limited-edition can, which has not received an official endorsement from Trump, is already proving popular among the beer's customer base, according to Weathers. "Sales are like nothing I have ever seen in my life," he said.

Weathers didn't provide a precise number on sales because at the time of Newsweek's request for that information the limited-edition can had been on sale for only about a day.

The 38-year-old former political consultant already had an online business selling products targeted at a conservative clientele—including "Let's go Brandon" merchandise (that political slogan and internet meme is used to insult Biden)—before creating "Ultra Right" beer earlier this year after Bud Light came under fire from some conservative commentators and customers.

In April, the brand was in a promotional partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, which some critics said betrayed the values of Bud Light's customer base. Founding itself in the middle of a culture war storm, Bud Light also alienated some LGBTQ+ activists and communities by not standing by Mulvaney as she became a hate target online.

Weathers previously told Newsweek that he created his "Ultra Right" beer because he wanted to "give conservatives another alternative, another company to buy from rather than a company that literally opposes everything conservatives stand for."

"Ultra Right" beer surpassed over $1 million in sales in the first two weeks after its launch, according to Fox News.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more