Prominent conservatives are lashing out at Burger King after it announced that it would be making donations to an LGBTQ organization in an apparent troll against Chick-fil-A.
In a tweet on Thursday, Burger King revealed that it intended to give 40 cents to the Human Rights Campaign for every chicken sandwich sold, up to $250,000, during the month of June.
The fast food giant also made specific mention of selling its chicken sandwiches on Sunday, a reference to Chich-fil-A’s policy of being closed on that day.
The campaign appears to be connected to a report last week from the Daily Beast that uncovered donations made by Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy to the National Christian Charitable Foundation, a group that has opposed legislation supported by the LGBTQ community.
Burger King’s stance was met with backlash from popular right-wing Twitter users such as Ben Shapiro, who argued that the campaign would alienate millions of Americans.
“Brilliant marketing move to actively alienate half the American population on behalf of the most radical activists in the Democratic base,” Shapiro wrote.
Tim Pool, a self-described “disaffected liberal” who is popular largely among supporters of former President Donald Trump, said that Burger King makes him sick—although perhaps literally and not figuratively.
Matt Walsh, another popular conservative commentator, likewise criticized the fast food chain.
“Burger King is the place you only go into if you need to use the bathroom or if you’ve been driving for hours and it’s literally the only fast food place within a 90 mile radius,” Walsh tweeted. “Absolute trash food from a trash company.”
Liz Wheeler, a former host on the far-right network OAN, claimed that Burger King’s efforts would insult “a huge part of their customer base.”
“This is going to help @ChickfilA tremendously when Christians who don’t like being mocked refuse to eat Burger King & go to Chick-fil-A instead,” Wheeler wrote. “Why is @BurgerKing insulting a huge part of their customer base?”
Despite the pushback, Burger King seems largely undeterred. In a statement to USA Today, a company spokesperson defended its campaign.
“This is a community we love dearly and have proudly supported over the years, so we couldn’t miss an opportunity to take action and help shine a light on the important conversation happening,” the spokesperson said.
