Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen argued Thursday the push for diversity, equity, and inclusion within companies is "corrosive" after Anheuser-Busch reportedly lost billions in the wake of its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The beer giant has reportedly seen its market value decrease by $5 billion in recent weeks. Budweiser Marketing Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid said the goal was to "evolve and elevate" the brand.
"She’s a beer salesman," Thiessen countered. "The job of a marketing manager at Budweiser is to sell Budweiser."
Thiessen argued on "Outnumbered" the main question in a Budweiser marketing meeting should be, "Is this going to sell more beer or is this going to hurt our beer sales?"
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He then speculated no one raised that important question when discussing a possible partnership with a transgender influencer for fear of being labeled "transphobic" or creating a hostile work environment.
Thiessen noted that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) management is the second-fastest growing job in America, according to LinkedIn.
"That means that every major company in America is hiring a political commissar whose job is to promote inclusivity and push down the people who would say, ‘this might be a dumb idea,’" Thiessen explained.
He told panelists many young people are taking DEI management roles because they want to do social justice work while making a corporate salary.
"They don't want social justice organization salaries," he said. "Quit your job, take a pay cut and go work for social justice if that's what you want. Otherwise, sell beer."
"Outnumbered" co-host Kayleigh McEnany said she’s "befuddled" by this trend that is being seen in all industries from beer to sports, and even Disney.
Disney’s job, she said, is to make movies.
"But then they venture into this territory of trying to change kids’ minds. Like Disney+ putting out something denouncing Abraham Lincoln, talking about white fragility," McEnany said. "Well, they lost 2.4 million subscribers. This is the consequence of getting into that territory."
Co-host Emily Compagno echoed Thiessen’s opinion that the widespread emphasis on DEI is "corrosive."
"Unfortunately, it's not just the corporate sector. It's riddling our government, too," she said.
