Yuengling Owner Endorses Donald Trump

The Yuengling brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is the oldest brewery in the United States, even circulating an ad campaign with the slogan "Respect. It's Earned." Last week, the brewery's owner Richard "Dick" Yuengling Jr., the fifth-generation owner of the company, made a statement endorsing Donald Trump for president that has cost the brewery some business.

Eric Trump, son of the Republican presidential candidate, took a tour of and held a brief news conference at the brewery during a trip to central and northeastern Pennsylvania.

The beer company began as a struggling family brewery, but turned into a $550 million enterprise when Dick, 73, bought the business from his father, Richard Yuengling Sr., according to the Reading Eagle. Yuengling is now one of the five largest beer companies in the country.

"This is an amazing American success story," Eric said during the news conference. "We need a lot more of these," which he said would be possible if his father became president.

"Our guys are behind your father," the Yuengling owner said to Eric during the visit. "We need him in there."

This endorsement has caused consumers, such as Pennsylvania's Democratic Rep. Brian Sims, to boycott the beer. Sims wrote in a Facebook post:

"GOOD BYE, Yuengling Brewery: I'm not normally one to call for boycotts but I absolutely believe that how we spend our dollars is a reflection of our votes and our values! Supporting Yuengling Brewery, that uses my dollars to bolster a man, and an agenda, that wants to punish me for being a member of the LGBT community and punish the black and brown members of my community for not being white, is something I'm too smart and too grown up to do."