A liberal Wisconsin brewery owner announced a promotion offering 50% off beer the day Sen. Mitch McConnell dies, drawing sharp criticism even as the brewery fights to keep its alcohol permit.
Kirk Bangstad, owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company, posted the promotion on Instagram on July 7, tying the discount to what he called McConnell's responsibility for "AT LEAST 50% of what's currently wrong with America." The post also mocked the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican's health, suggesting McConnell may have already died. The promotion would apply at both of the brewery's taprooms, in Minocqua and Madison, Wisconsin.
McConnell has not appeared in the Senate since June, when he was hospitalized after a fall and a pneumonia diagnosis. His last recorded vote came on June 11. His office released a statement in late July saying he remained in intensive physical therapy but offered no timeline for his return, USA TODAY reported. His office did not respond to a request for comment about the brewery's promotion.
Bangstad's stunt is not an isolated provocation. It follows a similar promotion the brewery ran involving President Trump, which the New York Post reported implied free beer would be given out if Trump were killed. And the brewery recently released a politically themed seasonal beer called "Antifa Octoberfist," complete with a label asking whether it is acceptable to punch a Nazi, a product Bangstad tied to a Democratic Senate primary result in Michigan.
Bangstad is not just a brewer with a social media habit. He also founded the Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC, which targets Republican elected officials whom it accuses of perpetuating election-related falsehoods tied to January 6, 2021. His brewery has become a vehicle for left-wing activism as much as for selling beer.
But the state of Wisconsin has its own concerns about how Bangstad runs his business. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue sent the brewery a notice announcing plans to revoke its alcohol permit over alleged tax violations. State officials say Bangstad transported beer from Illinois into Wisconsin without obtaining the required permits or paying the applicable taxes.
The brewery was facing permit revocation as of August 4. Bangstad filed an administrative appeal, and a Wisconsin Department of Revenue spokesperson confirmed the permit would remain in effect while the appeal plays out.
A spokesperson for the department told Fox News Digital:
"Minocqua Brewing Company has filed an administrative appeal, and, therefore, the permit will not be revoked, pending the outcome of the administrative appeal."
No timeline for the resolution of that appeal has been made public. The brewery continues to operate in the meantime, and continues to post.
Whatever one thinks of McConnell's record, the senator's extended hospitalization raises serious questions that go well beyond a brewer's Instagram feed. McConnell has missed dozens of Senate votes since June, including votes on defense legislation, Iran-related measures, and confirmation proceedings for several Trump administration nominees, according to GovTrack data cited in the USA TODAY report.
That absence has narrowed the GOP's working margin in the Senate at a time when every vote matters for advancing the president's agenda.
McConnell's office has disclosed little about his condition or prognosis. His late July statement acknowledged he was still in intensive physical therapy but gave no indication of when, or whether, he would return to the chamber. That lack of transparency has fueled public uncertainty, with polling showing just 9 percent of voters confident McConnell will finish his term.
Bangstad's follow-up social media post took aim at Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, in connection with what the brewery framed as ongoing vacancy concerns surrounding McConnell's prolonged absence. The post read: "Thanks for letting them get away with it, Governor Beshear." The brewery did not elaborate on what specific action it wanted Beshear to take.
Beshear's positioning on the question of McConnell's seat has drawn scrutiny of its own. Kentucky law gives the governor a role in filling a Senate vacancy, and Beshear has already maneuvered to influence who might fill that seat if it opens.
The full text of the July 7 Instagram post reveals a tone that goes beyond a provocative marketing gimmick. Bangstad wrote:
"Given that Mitch McConnell is responsible for AT LEAST 50% of what's currently wrong with America, we've decided to give 50% off of all of our beer at both taprooms in Minocqua and Madison the day he kicks the bucket, which in all honesty was probably three weeks ago."
A later post from the brewery's account doubled down, referencing McConnell's hospitalization more directly. As Fox News reported, the brewery wrote: "When they announce that McConnell's Faustian dance has finally ended, we're gonna start serving our beer at half price, because we promised #halfpricebeerday on the day they unplug the ventilator."
That language, mocking a hospitalized man on a ventilator, speculating about his death as a marketing hook, is not political commentary. It is cruelty dressed up as commerce.
McConnell has been hospitalized for weeks following a serious medical episode. His family and staff have offered limited updates. Reasonable people can debate whether a senator too ill to vote should resign. Turning his hospitalization into a beer sale is a different category entirely.
Bangstad has built his public persona around holding elected officials accountable. His SuperPAC targets politicians he accuses of breaking faith with democratic norms. His beer labels invoke anti-fascism and World War II-era moral clarity.
At the same time, his own business faces an enforcement action from state regulators who say he moved product across state lines without paying the required taxes or obtaining proper permits. The administrative appeal keeps the doors open for now, but the underlying allegation, that the brewery skirted the rules it was required to follow, sits uncomfortably next to Bangstad's self-appointed role as an enforcer of political accountability.
McConnell's ongoing rehabilitation remains a matter of public interest. His absence affects Senate business, and voters deserve honest information about his condition and his capacity to serve. Those are legitimate questions.
But a brewery owner who can't keep his own permits in order, hawking half-price beer on the day a hospitalized senator dies, is not the person asking them, and he is not the person answering them, either.
When your business model depends on someone else's death, you have not found a market niche. You have lost the plot.
