'Worse than a tariff': Jack Daniel's maker complains about backlash from Trump's policies

[Otto_Harper]

From RawStory

Link: https://www.rawstory.com/jack-daniels-tariffs/

Brown Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's liquor, warned investors after some Canadian officials reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs by pulling American booze from the shelves.

CEO Lawson Whiting gave the warning in a post-earnings call Wednesday, according to The Globe And Mail.

"I mean, that's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, (and) completely removing our products from the shelves," Whiting said.

The liquor CEO called the decision not to sell Jack Daniel's and other U.S. products a "disproportionate response.".........

Sounds like FAFO to me.

[Coventina]

1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wingus Dingus]

2. You can't have a "president" threaten other countries and belittle them

near-daily and expect them to want to support and consume your products.

[Rebl2]

11. Exactly!

[CatWoman]

21. might i add

that they pile on like trained monkeys while Trump is ridiculing people.

tough shit, Jack!!!

[luvallpeeps]

78. Right on!

If Americans can’t handle their business, then we’re going to find out who will. Maybe this will convince them. It was honky dory when other people were getting the shaft (The woke), but when the shit hurts them, then it’s oh woe is me. The bull in the china shop is breaking your shit? Welcome to our world.

[durablend]

3. But of course, no mention of *why* this happened

Just that Canada is the bad guy for doing this to them.

[Prairie Gates]

4. Let me guess who this fucking coglione and 75% of his workforce voted for?

"disproportionate"

They're supposed to like it, too!

[Cherrycheeks]

5. Oh well...

[sakabatou]

6. Let loose the face-eating leopards!

[Blues Heron]

7. Too funny

A lot of painful wokening up going on.

[Raven123]

8. Disproportionate? Trump is trying to take down Canada's economy

Sounds like it is just right. Much of American has been deluded or just too chicken s**t to fight. Canada learned from watching.

[Trueblue Texan]

40. Trump is also trying to take down our economy and our entire nation per Putin's orders. nt

[Retrograde]

9. That's a Tennessee product, right?

Made in Tennessee by people from Tennessee? People who likely voted for Donnie and his MAGA BS? Sorry, I'm out of sympathy for people who FAFO

[paleotn]

47. yes, yes and yes.

Lynchburg TN. Moore County. Been there more than a few times years ago. Few areas, outside of neo-nazi parts of Idaho that are redder than that section of TN. They voted 84% for Trump. Burn it down. Let them starve.

[BidenRocks]

66. Stick a microphone in their face and ask,

How's it going?
I had to quit drinking, but if I did it would be a Canadian Whisky. I almost said a Seven 7. I looked it up and the Seven Crown is American Whisky.
Black Velvet or Crown Royal are Canadian. Even Molson is part of Coors.
So many mergers and acquisitions make research necessary.
Prohibition caused America and Canada to get closer. Like all things chump, it's illegal.
What's his cut? "A piece of the action, right Spocko?" Affirmative!

[Permanut]

10. Well, Mr. CEO Whiting, let's do this..

Before you make any statements about sales or tariffs or responses, tell us who you and your management voted for. Then we'll know what size violin to get out.

[Ms. Toad]

18. Aside from a single donation to Mitch McConnell, all of Whiting's donations from 2015-2023

All of his donations were to Democrats.

No donations listed since 2023.

According to open secrets, aside from a consultant to the company who made several donations to Trump, there were more donations to Democratic candidates than Republicans.

This information is publicly available on Open Secrets so you don't have to cast aspersions without checking the facts. (Who they voted for isn't public, but if you wanted to you could almost certainly track down their party registration.)

ETA: Mr Whiting doesn't appear to be registered to vote. Tennessee has pretty detailed requirements for an online check of voter registration (including birth month and birth year). To the extent I found accurate information, he is not registered at the zip code from which he made his most recent political donation.

[moniss]

24. He could have made donations from other addresses around

the country or by other means to dark money groups etc.

[Ms. Toad]

26. So this is some great subterfuge?

He openly supports Democratic candidates through channels that are reported by law, but secretly is supporting the dark side in ways that can't be traced?

Got any evidence for that speculation?

As to where he donated from, the search returns all donations by the person. It is not limited to a specific address, so his donations from all addresses would have been included.

[moniss]

37. It is not unusual for business people to

"play both sides". Furthermore I didn't say he did I said he could make donations in other ways. Do you really think the big boys don't write checks to groups that aren't required to report and then those groups funnel the money to the desired target?

[Ms. Toad]

41. Aspersions were cast against a specific person -

and all evidence I can find points to him supporting more Democratic candidates than Republicans. While you are correct that business people play both sides (I've said that myself), the evidence that they play both sides is typically found in ways that can be publicly tied to them. There is no benefit to playing both sides if the recipient of the donation can't be publicly identified.

The fact that his company is being hurt by the tariffs and he is speaking out isn't justification for casting aspersions that he is a secret Republican who FAFO, when all the evidence anyone in this thread has presented suggests he leans Democratic.

If you've got some evidence, bring it. Otherwise it's just unjustified assumptions because he happens to live in Tennessee, or because he happens to be speaking out about the tariffs and your confirmation bias would like him to be Republican.

[moniss]

55. You seem to be taking this way beyond anything I'm talking about.

I would like you to show me where I said he is "a secret Republican who FAFO". Once again if you care to read what I said to you before I did not say he did I merely pointed out that he could. Your assertion that what you found is absolute and conclusive does not hold water against the possibilities and that was pointed out.

[Ms. Toad]

65. You jumped into a conversation in which that was the substance of the post to which I responded

You supported the post's assertion by suggesting that even though the entirety of his donations (required to be reported by law because he is an upper level employee in a company) suggest he supports more Democrats than Republicans he might have engaged in some subterfuge whereby the CEO was secretly donating to Republicans - or might have donated from another address.

The post I responded to made baseless speculation, and when I provided evidence that it was baseless, you felt some need to suggest ways the post to which I responded could still be true. I don't like baseless accusations - regardless of who they are made against. And once the allegations are established as likely false - based on the publicly available information on donations, the respectful thing to do is to drop them - unless you have something more than base speculation to the contrary.

I never claimed the evidence was conclusive - but generally, when baseless speculation is countered by evidence, to overcome that you need to provide some actual evidence - not just more baseless speculation.

[moniss]

68. Once again you are way beyond what was said.

Furthermore I didn't "jump" into some private conversation you were having with someone else about the subject. I specifically and narrowly responded to something you were intimating and I pointed out that it could be more than your conclusion. Furthermore I made no baseless accusation against anybody so you can drop that line of crap.

[Ms. Toad]

70. I didn't say it was a private conversation,

But you did jump into a the conversation and you reinforced the assumptions made by the post to which I responded. I provided all of the publicly available evidence I could find, which indicated that he supported more Democrats than Republicans. For some reason, without any evidence to support your speculation, you felt compelled to suggest he might still be secretly supporting Republicans.

Speculation doesn't counter evidence. Feel free to provide some.

[moniss]

73. I will be as clear and simple as possible for you.

It was not about him it was about your post. Do you understand the difference? If not then don't bother to respond. If you do then you won't need to either.

[Ms. Toad]

74. Everything has a context, and context matters. n/t

[underpants]

61. Good work thanks. That surprises me.

but as pointed out below there are other ways to move money.

I really appreciate the research.

[Permanut]

71. Thanks for the info, Ms. Toad.

Did not know about Open Secrets, always glad to have more information.

[Ms. Toad]

72. It's a good resource.

You can look by both individual donors and by company. I can't quickly find what triggers the employer reporting - but the idea behind the requirement is that companies shouldn't be able to hide their contributions by whitewashing them through employees.

[Basso8vb]

12. If only someone was screaming warnings all last year...

Oh, wait.

[tanyev]

13. Newsflash, Mr. Whiting, the good people of Canada are not going to purchase your products.

So Canadian liquor stores might as well pull it off the shelves so they don’t have to start dusting all those bottles.

[Johonny]

14. Tariffs do tend to change supply chains

As people pointed out. For Canada and Mexico this is easier in the sense Trump is an easy figure to hate and blame.

Americans on the other hand poorly understand supply chains and have no idea who the officials in Mexico or Canada even are for the most part.

[yardwork]

31. Everybody complains about NAFTA, but it was already there.

NAFTA tried to make sense of the fact that, from a manufacturing and trade perspective, we don't have three separate countries in North America, we have one continent that shares manufacturing and consumption.

Trump is trying to dial back the clock to, I dunno, the 1840s. The "America Fuck Yeah" bozos don't have a clue.

[Metaphorical]

58. Yup

Plus many Canadians are the descendents of Scots, who know a few things about making whiskey (or Uisge in the Gaelic, where we derive the word from). Several superb Canadian whiskey brands. The Canadians are not going to lose any sleep over not having Jack Daniels up there.

[mercuryblues]

15. What I'm hearing is

JD is not allowed in Canada. Couches are breathing a sigh of relief.

[thomski64]

25. ..are convicted fElons allowed...

In Canada? Asking for a president..

[mercuryblues]

48. JD is a couchvict, not a convict.

[BidenRocks]

67. Strange

I thought Canada liked Loonies!

[Aristus]

16. Why don't you and all your holy-rolling Tennesseans just pray about it?

That will fix everything, right?

[Sky Jewels]

17. Jack Daniels scrapped its DEI policy last year.

Fuck them.

[MagickMuffin]

45. I didn't know that, Are they gonna strip the history of Jack Daniel's as well?

As a teenager, Daniel was taken in by Dan Call, a local lay preacher and moonshine distiller. He began learning the distilling trade from Call and his Master Distiller, Nathan "Nearest" Green, an enslaved African-American man. Green was known to specialize in the Lincoln County Process, a distilling process that filters the whiskey through sugar maple charcoal. This process created the distinction between bourbon and the Tennessee whiskey known today. While under Green as an apprentice, Daniel was taught the Lincoln County Process. Green continued to work with Call after emancipation.

[BoRaGard]

19. My advice: don't follow a draft-dodging G.O.P. felon-rapist with ties to Moscow

It has stood me in good stead through many a year.

[madinmaryland]

20. Can't they get a contract to supply Pet Hegseth. That should keep them in business.

[Norrrm]

35. SECDEF Hegseth

[lame54]

22. Disproportionate?

It's best to distant ones self from crazy

[flashman13]

23. Hey Tennessee - You Volunteered to elect the oragne goon. Now you will (literally) pay the price.

[yardwork]

27. So whatcha gonna do about it, CEO?

[robleb]

28. Cry me a river (of whiskey)

[KT2000]

29. Buying American

is an embarrassment in Canada now. That will not change, even if the tariffs were pulled now.

[Srkdqltr]

30. Tell it to Trump.

[kacekwl]

32. It's just a little

discomfort that you should be ok with right.

[DENVERPOPS]

33. that's okay,

we will all be drinking only Russian Vodka pretty soon. Just like the Russian citizens do, in large quantities, just to cope with their world that Putin has "given" them....

[LetMyPeopleVote]

34. "Canadian provinces taking American liquor off store shelves is worse than a tariff..."

Link to tweet

[orangecrush]

36. Definitely FAFO

[ellie]

38. Cry more magats.

[Autumn]

39. Get on your knees and prey your tariffs away.

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

42. No one in Mexico is buying US products

I have a few retired US friends living in Mexico,
And a couple of extended family living there too.

All are US citizens.

No one is buying US products, whenever possible.

Mexican consumers are not buying US products.

Trump is laughed at in Mexico.
As a fool. A loca cabeza. Pendejo Trump.

[ananda]

43. Another special brand of stupid...

called not being able to see consequences
but thinking that Trump is good for business.

!@#$%

[Otterdaemmerung]

44. Sending "oh no!"s and "anyway"s...

[JPK]

46. By the way

Isn't Bacardi Rum made in the US and isn't Bacardi owned by Coca Cola? Canadians, check your liquor bottles for country of origin.

[Cheezoholic]

49. Jack Daniels is teenage puke whiskey anyway. They probably make more off their branding than their liquor lol

Kentucky's the one thats gonna get hammered. 9 billion in liquor exports to Canada from Kentucky alone. That's a chunk o change no matter how you count it.

[Otto_Harper]

53. Kentucky just needs to mobilize Meal Team 6 and send them to Canada

The Canadians will all laugh themselves to death. Revenge meted out. (/Snark)

[Emile]

50. Elections have consequences.

[BadgerMom]

51. Who'd you vote for last November, Lawson?

This sounds like a 100% appropriate response to monthly threats of tariffs. Don’t like it? Take it up with this corrupt and stupid administration.

[S/V Loner]

52. It appears Brown Forman spreads his donations...

pretty evenly between the parties.

[kimbutgar]

54. I hope corporate America fights back!

We need to continue our economic boycotts and hurt those companies who bow to the orange Hitler and his mad Rasputin !

[Cha]

56. Sounds Not "disproportionate" Did they vote for this?

TY

[no_hypocrisy]

57. But think of all the money you'll save with the tax cuts!

[liberal N proud]

59. But is it?

Last edited Thu Mar 6, 2025, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)

Canada did not vote to have an ass attack them and impact their pocketbook.
The voters of Tennessee did, Jack Daniel’s is from Tennessee.

Yep, sounds like Canadians are making a valid response.

I mistyped that one they did not vote to have …

[BidenRocks]

75. Did not.

Line 1 typo changes everything.

[liberal N proud]

80. Duh!

My bad

[Sneederbunk]

60. Don't feel sorry for those who voted for TSF or didn't vote at all.

[Joinfortmill]

62. Corporations turning on Krasnov is good

[Meowmee]

63. Lol

[SunSeeker]

64. Fuck you, Lawson. How is it "proportional" hitting Canada with 25% tariffs? For WHAT??

Why not address THAT? A tariff is an act of war. You expect Canadian patriots to take it lying down?

[roamer65]

69. Fuck em.

FAFO.

[Tootbsb]

76. Tots and pears.

[RockRaven]

77. Anyone got a breakdown of the company and executives political donations?

I bet I can guess who they predominantly donated to...

[NNadir]

79. Let's, um, see. Where did Tennessee's electoral votes go? Once...

...good will is destroyed there is not much hope of getting it back.