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April 15, 2023 - Sean Hannity Show
31:01
Bud Light Bust - April 14th, Hour 3
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This is an iHeart Podcast.
Coming up next, our final news roundup and information overload hour.
All right, news roundup information overload hour.
Glad you are with us.
800-941-Sean, our number, you want to be a part of the program.
You know, anywhere between $5 and $7 billion in market share loss for Anheuser-Busch because of this Bud Light controversy.
over partnering with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans, quote, influencer.
The company's saying they never expected a backlash like this.
Upper management is trying to distance themselves.
Oh, this was some low-level person.
We had no idea.
Going forward, though, we'll approve everything going forward.
The backlash has been real.
It has been severe.
And I don't think it's going away anytime soon.
Do I think Budweiser is going to end up going broke?
Probably not.
But however, this has become now a really big deal around the country.
The other night, we showed you Kid Rock literally sending his message by shooting up cases of Bud Light on his property.
And let me play it for you.
Grandpa is feeling a little frisky today.
let me uh say something to all you and be as clear and concise as possible bud light and anhyzer bush Have a terrific day.
Wow.
Anyway, and that's not the only person involved in this.
Our friend, country music superstar John Rich, literally he's now fighting this, battling this himself.
He's got his incredible Redneck Riviera places of business, bars basically, that are just rocking and totally fun and cool.
And I've had a great time every time I've been there.
You got to be very careful when you hang out with John Rich, though, because you're going to wake up with the next morning with some headache because he's going to force you to drink this whiskey that he loves, even though everybody that loves whiskey loves his whiskey.
Redneck Riviera, the great John Rich is with us.
How are you, sir?
Hey, Sean, I'm good, man.
Let me play Dylan Mulvaney and her Bud Light March Madness promotion.
Hi.
Impressive carrying skills, right?
I got some Bud Lights for us.
So I kept hearing about this thing called March Madness, and I thought we were all just having a hectic month.
But it turns out it has something to do with sports.
And I'm not sure exactly which sport, but either way, it's a cost to celebrate.
This month I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood, and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with my face on it.
Check out my Instagram story to see how you can enjoy March Madness with Bud Light and maybe win some money too.
Love ya.
Anyway, the backlash has been real and you're a big part of it, John Rich.
Tell us what's going on.
Well, so when this all broke about a week ago, I told my general manager at Redneck Riviera downtown in Nashville.
I said, okay, keep an eye on sales because Bud Light is our number one selling beer.
Always has been since the day we opened back in 2018.
Far and away, that's the number one beer.
I said, so see what happens, man.
I'm curious.
And within about three days, I checked in.
I said, so how are Bud Light sales?
He said, they are at zero.
Nobody wants Bud Light.
Nobody's ordering Bud Light.
I said, how much Bud Light do we have?
He said, we've got like 130 cases of Bud Light sitting back here, and I don't know what I'm going to do with it.
And so I said, well, if people aren't going to buy it, we're not going to stock it.
And so that's exactly what happened.
The distributor came back a couple of days ago, picked up all the unopened kegs, all the cases, and hauled them out.
Nobody is ordering Bud Light.
By the way, I'm hearing from people that I know in St. Louis, because, I mean, Bud in Missouri, that is the beer to drink.
You don't drink any of the beer in Missouri.
Everybody supports Anheuser-Busch, or everybody has, up to this point, supported Anheuser-Busch.
What is your analysis of this?
That why are people saying, you know what, we're sick and tired.
Now you want to get involved in politics.
You want to go woke, and we're not supporting it.
Yeah, well, I think this agenda is pushed on us at every possible turn.
You know, you look at these women that practice their entire lives in sports and they become the top of their game only to have it stolen away from a man who says he's a woman and they go in and take it away from him.
And that's happening all over the country.
I think people have had enough of it.
And when they made the move with the Bud Light can, it's really not about Bud Light.
It's not about beer or anything like that.
It's the cultural move that's happening.
People have had enough of it.
And so because your voices aren't really heard much anymore and you're kind of shouted down into the corner, you know, if you try to push back against anything, I think people are voting with their dollars.
And what I'm seeing is, I can tell you about Red Nick Riviera whiskey that you just mentioned.
There are people searching out brands that are new, brands that speak their language, brands that aren't woke, brands that, you know, are just straight ahead good brands.
And there's tons of them out there.
There's lots of other beers.
There's a lot of great whiskeys and other products out there that people are moving to.
RedneckRiviera.com is where my stores are all located.
You can find your store.
Sean, we had to add, we had to double our data plan on the website to handle the traffic that was coming in for people looking for stores carrying Red Nick Riviera because they've had enough of it.
You know, I agree with all of it.
Look, it's not even, you're just giving in to customer demand at this point.
And, you know, while it used to be your number one bestseller, now people have had it.
I think the biggest mistake these corporations make is they get into politics.
They need to stay out of the arena of politics.
Now, you're a country music artist, and you've been willing to risk your career very consciously by being outspoken on things you feel passionately about.
You have a passion for our military, a passion and love for this country.
You don't hide it.
It comes out in your music.
It comes out in the words you speak.
It comes out in interviews that you do.
But that's a choice that you make.
And if some people don't like it and they don't want to go to a John Rich show or a Big and Rich show, that's up to them.
And you understand that that's a possibility.
I absolutely believe that it draws more people to you because your music is inspiring, because you are unique.
You are different.
And half the country, I think, thinks like we do.
Yeah, well, you know, I came to the fork in the road one day a few years ago and I said to myself, am I going to be the guy that gets mad at the news and yells at the TV and then put on my boots and my hat and go out there and play patty cake with the people I was just yelling at on TV?
That's hypocritical.
And so is my freedom of speech more important to me than the approval of the music industry?
And the answer is, yes, it is.
And don't forget, we're Americans.
Remember the people that founded our country, Sean?
Do you think they cared what somebody's opinion was of what they had to say?
If they were concerned about other people's opinions, we would have never founded our country.
You know, I can relate to it because there have been people trying to silence my voice pretty much throughout my entire career, and I managed to survive.
But if I live my life caring about what some people think of me, then I'd never be able to do my job.
I had this conversation with my daughter recently.
Said, you know, you've got to be who you are.
You've got to stand up for what you believe in, regardless of whether maybe people like it or don't like it.
Otherwise, you're going to be a prisoner and a people pleaser the rest of your life.
And that's like being in prison to me.
Well, and let's apply that to Dylan Mulvaney.
So, Dylan Mulvaney, this is who Dylan wants to be.
Bud Light wanted to make that decision.
It's their brand.
It's their marketing dollars.
They can do whatever they want to do, Sean.
I don't believe in cancel culture.
I don't believe in canceling somebody, and I don't want them canceling me.
But when the customers, which the customers are king, when you run a business, if they stop purchasing something, I cannot stock it.
I mean, you just literally cannot stop things.
Well, you only have so much room for so many cold beers in any bar.
I know, because I was a bartender for years.
That's exactly right.
And so you've got to really be careful what you pick and make sure you put stuff in there that people want to buy.
And they stopped buying Bud Light.
So that was case closed.
It was game over.
And, you know, Bud Light made that decision.
Like you said, they're $5 to $7 billion down now.
I mean, that's, I know they're worth $200 billion plus, but man, that is a big hit.
And I think it sticks, honestly.
Can you imagine going to a NASCAR race, going to Talladega or Daytona?
No.
I'll jump the gun.
No, I can't imagine them drinking Bud Light or Bud.
No.
Right.
A bunch of guys sitting around go, hey, let's get around to Bud Lights.
That's not going to happen.
You know, this is an amazing thing.
You said something that I've practiced my entire career.
I've never supported a boycott.
I've never supported a firing.
I've never supported a cancellation of even people that have been my strongest critics, most outspoken critics.
And, you know, they step in something.
And I've actually gone to bat for many of these people in moments when people want them canceled, want them fired, and publicly will say, don't fire them.
I did it in the case.
I won't mention the cable host.
This cable host, I was told later by their boss, was about to be fired until I came out and said, don't fire this person.
And, you know what?
And I don't like a single word that comes out of this person's mouth.
However, and that person attacks me from time to time, although at the time I was thanked for it.
But because that's just not who we are, John Rich.
If you don't like what somebody's saying, you don't have to listen to their show, watch their TV show, buy their product.
That's called liberty.
That's called freedom.
They can produce it.
They can partner with anyone they want.
You know, we just had in the last hour a caller who is a trans woman, and she explained her situation, but she's kind of, she agrees with Caitlin Jenner.
We ought not be indoctrinating kids with all of this.
This is an adult decision.
And if adults want to make that choice, then that's up to them.
But we can't be circumventing the values that parents rightly want to instill in their children.
We can't have teachers contradicting those values, especially when we're failing our kids on the educational front.
That's right.
We don't even let kids go to, kids can't even go to an R-rated movie.
Okay.
I mean, so.
They can't even buy a jewel.
They want to steal my jewels and ban them, John Rich.
Leave my jewels alone for crying out loud.
Leave Sean's jewels alone, people.
Come on.
Come on, man.
And then I'll drink more Redneck Riviera whiskey with you.
Yeah, man.
Well, I appreciate you always supporting Redneck Riviera.
You have since the beginning.
Everybody listening, it's the weekend.
There's 10,000-plus stores now that carry Redneck Riviera whiskey.
It's on redneckria.com in our store locator.
Go grab a bottle or two of it.
I think people should.
Go grab a bottle of two of it.
You want them to drink two bottles over the weekend?
Call your friends, man.
You got to have a backyard party.
But it's time for people to go find other brands.
Find brands that don't disappoint you.
Find brands that you can literally stay loyal to for the rest of your life.
I think there's a lot of heartbroken people that have always loved a lot of brands.
They've been a part of their life.
Bud and Coors, that's kind of like Ford and Chevy.
I'm a Bud-like guy.
I'm a Coors-like guy.
And when one of their favorite brands disappoints them, they go, well, now what am I going to drink?
Well, you know what?
There's a lot of great options.
Go out there and find some new companies that speak your language.
Quick break more with our friend Country Music Superstar and, of course, bar owner and the head of his own whiskey company, Redneck Riviera Whiskey.
John Rich on the other side.
Then your calls, 800-941-Sean.
Don't forget for Hannity Show tickets, they're free.
We have audience shows Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week.
Just go to Hannity.com, sign up now before they sell out, even though we don't sell them.
All right, we continue with Country Music Superstar, our friend John Rich, and he owns two bars.
Redneck Vervieri has his own whiskey line, and of course, a country music rock star superstar as we talk about this issue of Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch.
So I want to remind people: so you and I have gone out a few times together.
I watched The Sunrise with you one night, which this is many years ago.
I'm too old for this crap now, but I hung out with you, and you are tough to hang with.
And you know what?
I'm not a lightweight.
I can hold my own.
And you are one tough guy to hang out with.
And you make people do things they don't want to do.
And I hate that.
You make me shoot whiskey.
I'm a vodka guy.
Will you come up with Redneck Vodka next, please?
Well, see, people don't realize, Sean, when you drink your vodka, you've got your pinky up.
I don't.
Oh, yeah, you do.
It's like Thirst and Hell the Third.
It's Tito's, man.
It's all good.
It's American-made.
It's a Texas brand.
But if you had Redneck Riviera vodka, I'd be your biggest customer.
We'll work on it for you, man, just for you.
All right.
Tell us about what's coming up.
You're going to be on tour all summer?
Yeah, we've got a lot of big and rich shows booked.
I've got a new song coming out in about a month called I'm Offended.
And you are going to absolutely laugh your head off, Sean, when you hear this new song.
Well, why don't you give us an early preview?
Tell us a little bit about it.
I'll tell you some of the, you want to hear some of the lyrics?
I do.
It says, it seems like these days, no matter what you say, someone's losing their ever-loving mind.
It's like they're looking for a reason to have their fragile feelings hurt every single time.
My country truck, I gas it up.
You got your fancy Tesla hooked up to a plug.
I know you're mad.
You think I'm bad because I'm breathing free at last and you're still stuck behind your mask and I'm offended that you're offended.
Let's all get offended tonight.
I'll sit down right here and scream and yell and cuss and fuss and fight.
Boom.
It's coming.
Boom.
You know, that's why we love you because you're you.
And our best of big Kenny can't wait for the new song to come out.
Hopefully I'll get to meet you out on tour someplace somewhere.
We'll be in the same city.
Always fun to have you on.
Always fun to hang with you.
Always love to get your opinions.
John Rich, thanks for being with us.
Thanks, Sean.
God bless you.
You too.
God bless you.
800-941, Sean, our number.
Get your dose of independence and liberty every weekday right here on the Sean Hannity Show.
Hi, 25 to the top of the hour.
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All right, let's get to our busy phones.
800-941-Sean, our number, if you want to be a part of the program.
John in Arizona, what's up, big John?
How are you?
Glad you called.
Happy Friday.
Yeah, happy Friday.
Hey, so I just wanted to get your opinion.
What I see is no doubt about it.
You know, the world's in a pretty bad condition and it's scary times, but it's really important to win 2024.
And what I'm seeing with the polling data and some of the sentiment out there is I just don't see Trump winning.
And I agree with the big man Bill O'Reilly, who I love that section, by the way.
You mean simple man, Bill O'Reilly?
By the way, do you think Bill O'Reilly's a simple man?
He's a self-proclaimed simple man.
Do you think he's a simple man?
He's a little complex, I must say.
A little?
He's like the most complex person on the face of the earth.
But anyway, I digress.
Anyway, we're not putting on Bill O'Reilly right now, but there it is, simple man.
So you don't think at this moment in time that Donald Trump can win?
That's what you're saying, right?
I don't think he has a prayers chance against Biden.
I just don't see it.
I think he's going to run a grievance campaign that's not going to register to the independents.
The polling data shows that he has a 38% approval amongst Americans.
And we've got to trust the polls.
Yeah, they were wrong in 2016, but they were right in 2018.
They were right in 2020.
And they're right in 2022.
I think the best chance we have is DeSantis.
And I just wanted to get your opinion on that.
Well, look, I've heard all varying points of view on this.
Here's what I'll tell you.
And I happen to like both people.
I think Donald Trump was a great president.
I really do.
Did he bring a fight with him?
Yeah, he did bring a fight with him.
Now, I think also that Ron DeSantis has been a great governor.
Ron DeSantis is only 44 years old.
I think Ron DeSantis is going to be president one day.
That's my personal belief.
And I think, you know, I don't like that they're fighting.
Let me add that to the mix.
I'd rather they get along.
Last time I interviewed Trump, I said, you guys, you were always friendly.
What happened?
President explained his side.
The next time I interview Governor DeSantis, I'll ask him his side.
But putting all that aside, at some point in a primary, there's always going to be that fight.
It's coming sooner or later.
It's inevitable.
I've done this for far too long.
In terms of electability, which is the heart of your question, let me just get you to pull back and maybe go up 30,000 feet with me and look down.
Whatever issues, the real defining issues that will motivate voters in 2024, we don't know yet.
I am doing the special on Hannity tonight, and I hope everybody will watch on China because this is a real clear present danger.
We have President Qi now.
He is mobilizing in warp speed a coalition that I didn't think would be possible to build, a new axis of evil.
And many of our allies have determined that China is going to be the winner in terms of being the dominant world superpower.
Saudi Arabia has made that calculation.
The UAE has made that calculation.
Egypt has made that calculation.
And even though Macron is trying to back off some of the comments that he made, which were reckless and irresponsible and stupid, I think that he has made the same calculation, much to the detriment, because I will tell you, Europe without the United States is dead.
And the world, frankly, without a strong United States, is not good.
So if things continue on its current trajectory, I would say all bets are off on everybody.
And in this sense, let's assume for a minute that these legal challenges that Donald Trump is facing won't bog him down enough to prevent him.
They're not going to put him in jail.
Let's say we get to that point, or those remain outstanding, whatever.
If China takes over Taiwan, if in fact China and Russia and Iran are wreaking havoc around the world, if more of our allies continue to change alliances and shift their alliances,
if the economy is in a full-blown recession and Americans are suffering financially, if things are that dangerous in the world and that dangerous at home and people are hurt that much, I think your calculation on Donald Trump would be dead wrong.
In other words, it's sort of like, go back to World War II, and I love Winston Churchill.
Blood, piles, tears, and sweat.
What is our aim, you ask?
Victory.
Victory at any cost.
Winston Churchill was not loved by the people of Great Britain.
He drank, he smoked, he cussed, he had a reputation, put it that way.
But he was the lone voice of moral clarity as it came to Hitler.
And his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, famously said, oh, you know, after meeting in Munich with Adolf Hitler, we finally have peace in our time.
And the people of Britain were relieved.
And lo and behold, there was not peace in their time because Hitler was planning his invasion and his takeover of all of Europe.
And at that moment, they decided it was time for somebody that had maybe character flaws, maybe warts, maybe the modern-day equivalent of angry tweets.
They wanted that guy that was going to lead that country to victory in that moment.
And that man was the right man at the right place in the right time in history.
And that man's name was Winston Churchill.
And during the bombing of Britain, this man, as prime minister, bravely walked among the people every single day to lift their spirits and show them that he will not cower and he will not be afraid.
Let me play a little portion of his speech about what the aim is because it's, I think we might be heading into a similar era with this new axis of evil.
Listen.
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined the government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and threat.
You are squirted up on the sea.
I will say it is to wage war by sea, land, and air with all our might, with all the strength that God can give us, to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalog of human crime.
You ask, what is our aim?
I can answer in one word.
Victory.
Victory at all costs.
Victory in spite of all terror.
Victory, however long and hard the road may be.
But without victory, there is no survival.
Now, let me ask you a question.
If I'm right, and if the world is being reconfigured before our very eyes, and China is going to pursue their territorial ambitions and try to displace the United States as the world's lone superpower, if I'm right, I ask you, what does that do to Donald Trump's chances at that point?
Well, I agree.
I think at that point, he has a much better chance, and I think he would probably be the victor.
Hopefully, hope to God that doesn't happen because the last thing we need is another war.
I hope to God, too.
But let me remind you of something because I wrote a book on evil.
It was called Deliver Us from Evil, Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, because you have to win the political war first.
People misunderstood it.
And we lost over, when you look at Mao and China, you look at Russia and Stalin, you look at Hitler and Germany, and Nazi Germany and fascism, Imperial Japan, the killing fields in Cambodia.
We lost over 100 million human souls because of tyrants and tyranny and authoritarianism, the likes of which the world had not seen before.
I see that in President Xi.
I hope I'm wrong.
I don't think I am.
I see that in Vladimir Putin.
I hope I'm wrong, but I know I'm not.
He's killing innocent men, women, and children.
I see that with the Iranian mullahs, and they will kill anybody.
And their desperate search for nuclear weapons, coupled with their mad ideology, is beyond a clear and present danger to the world.
So if I'm right on this, America and the world is going to call out for strength.
What is the one best characteristic of Donald Trump?
His strength.
His strength for sure.
And I think that it just depends.
If we're in that situation where we have a financial recession, a bad financial recession, we get into a war, Trump wins.
If it stays the way it is and we have Trump, Biden wins.
That's my prediction.
I hope I'm wrong.
We'll see.
Listen, I think that Ron DeSantis one day will be president.
I don't know when.
I don't know how this plays out.
I don't know how it plays out legally for Donald Trump.
I think they're after him.
And some people say that they're just trying to bloody him up and damage him if he runs in the general election.
I don't think that's their aim.
I think their aim is to destroy him.
I think the deep state is that threatened by him.
And I'm going to add one other thought here.
I don't care who the Republican candidate is in this sense.
Any Republican candidate with strength.
And I think Ron DeSantis is a strong figure as well.
I really do.
And he's disciplined and he has a military background and he's smart as hell.
And he's done a great job for Florida.
And he's got toughness in him.
I can see it.
And I can just tell you, they will smear, slander, besmirch, and try to destroy him too.
Or any other Republican.
It doesn't matter who it is.
They will do the same exact thing.
You think I'm wrong?
I think you're exactly right.
So just, you know, be aware that that is the future of anybody that gets that nomination.
They're going to get crushed with a mountain of attacks by the left.
They want to destroy their name, assassinate their character, and make them appear to be lunatics when they're not.
All right.
I hope that was a worthwhile answer for you.
I know it was long-winded.
I appreciate it.
Very insightful.
Thank you so much, Sean.
Have a great weekend and drink.
You too, buddy.
God bless you.
800-941, Sean.
Linda, you want to weigh in?
I see it in your eyes.
What is it?
I mean, I just think there's a lot of hatred against Trump.
There's a lot of people who want to talk about how he's vitriolic or, you know, he doesn't have the right personality or it's just going to be a campaign of him battling back.
And yeah, I think people are wrong.
First of all, I've never been polled, so I don't know who's getting pulled in these polls.
Second of all, when Trump was president, you can say a lot of things.
The country was safer.
The borders were more secure.
We had more money in our pockets.
Gas was a lot cheaper.
You know, for the first time in a very long time, we had people back to work.
People were earning a living.
And then we had him actually putting into place, you know, right to try, the Second Chance Act, you know, helping with prison reform, having people that were on unemployment actually have to go out and try to get a job if you were collecting a check, right?
Not just sort of being on welfare in perpetuity, which unfortunately is a really vicious cycle in America today.
So many different things that went back and harken back.
Have you ever thought of being a press secretary?
Like, you sound like Trump's press secretary.
Do you ever think of the applying for the job?
Let me tell you something.
Let me tell you why you couldn't do it because you couldn't.
You would drop an F-bomb every other second.
There would be a giant sign at the front of the door and would say, if you are easily offended, do not come in because I don't care about your feelings and I don't care about what words you do and don't like.
At the end of the day, we are all here to work.
I had to ask you.
I'm not going to work.
Forget about it.
I had to ask.
You know, don't ask.
It's true.
You know, like, there's certain people in life.
Don't ever ask them how they're feeling.
You know why?
Because they're going to ask.
Unless you really want to know.
What's up?
Hey, how you doing?
You know, I'm not really doing well.
I have this.
I'm like, oh, just say I'm doing fine.
How are you?
Listen.
And I'm not insensitive.
It happens always at the wrong time.
And then you got to stop what you're doing and then boom.
Well, you know, I mean, I usually walk by people that I don't really want to know.
You doing good?
Everything good?
All right, cool, man.
But if I actually care, then I'm like, hey, how you doing?
You doing all right?
Everything good?
And I really mean it.
It's different.
Okay.
800-941-Sean, if you want to be a part of the program as we continue.
All right, that's going to wrap things up for today.
The threat that is very real, and that is the new axis of evil led by China, now aligning with Russia, aligning with Iran, and then seeing that the UAE and Egypt and even the French with Macron are now moving towards China and away from the U.S.
This is happening right before our eyes and nobody's paying attention.
Nine Eastern tonight on Hannity.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you for making this show possible.
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