The co-founder of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, is an avowed supporter of Donald Trump, and that seems to be costing the home-improvement store at least some customers.
The billionaire sparked an online backlash when he recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [1] that he planned to donate to the president’s 2020 reelection bid.
Marcus said that while he didn’t “agree with every move” Trump had made, the president had still “produced more than anybody else.” He added: “If we look at this country, I would say that we are better off today than we were eight years ago or six years ago.”
Marcus has become an increasingly outspoken conservative figure, appearing once on Fox News to argue that Democratic politicians “don’t have any brains” for failing to support Trump’s tax plan.
And when it comes to conservative causes, Marcus isn’t all talk. For years, the billionaire, along with the early Home Depot backer Ken Langone, have functioned as mega donors for the Republican Party. Marcus donated $7 million to Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
But, nonetheless, the billionaire’s latest comments appear to have prompted calls on Twitter for a boycott.
Posting under the #boycotthomedepot hashtag, Twitter users have criticized Marcus’ hefty donations to Trump, with some saying they plan to cut up their Home Depot cards and others throwing in their lot with competitors like Lowe’s and Menards.
Take a look:
@HomeDepot [2] makes its billions from the hard working immigrants of this country, in their stores and as carpenters and contractors. Yet their founder wants to support a racist who wants to conduct mass deportation and rip families apart. I can’t support that. #BoycottHomeDepot [3]
— Lisa McEwen (@LisaMcEwen76) June 30, 2019 [4]
PEAPLE WAKE UP LETS BOYCOTT HOME DEPOT, PLEASE LOWES AT LEAST HAVE A OWNER WHO DOESNT SUPPORT RACIST DT WHO IS KIDNAPPING KIDS PUT IN CAGES THEN SALES THEM TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! #BOYCOTTHOMEDEPOT [5] pic.twitter.com/fKEszng7qB [6]
— Jaime Jimenez (@1001jijj) July 1, 2019 [7]
#BoycottHomeDepot [3] As long as HD supports tRump, they will not get one penny of my hard earned money. Not supporting liars, cheats, and misogynistic behavior (at best) is how women will vote in 2020 and with our money now.
— Mary Jacobs (@molokai14) July 2, 2019 [8]
@cenkuygur [9] @Twitter [10] Home depot's co-founder Bernie Marcus spends a life time accumulating wealth produced by his employees so he can donate to Turmp's campaign for policies that work against the middle class and the same people that made him a billionaire. #boycotthomedepot [11]
— Rob Guimar (@Rob_Guimar) June 30, 2019 [12]
What a way for @HomeDepot [2] CEO to waste his $$ buying the Trump campaign of bigotry, White Supr, cruelty to childrn &humanity, praising foreign enemies, disrespecting military vets/war heros, adultery/rape. Invest community not criminals. Its over betw us #BoycottHomeDepot [3]
— Francesca Buttercup (@pbosslady) July 6, 2019 [13]