It was really only a matter of time.
Following days of collective outrage from MAGA world over Cracker Barrel’s “woke rebrand,” Donald Trump offered his take on the controversy by urging the Southern-themed restaurant chain to cash in on the “great opportunity” and bring back the old logo.
The president’s comments come a day after the company responded to the widespread backlash to its rebranding efforts, noting that it revealed “how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel.”
Last week, following years of diminishing revenues and plunging stock prices, Cracker Barrel announced that it was removing the restaurant’s iconic “Uncle Herschel” from its logo, which saw the character leaning against a barrel. The company also removed the phrase “Old Country Store” from the signage, instead leaving just the words “Cracker Barrel” inside a barrel-shaped orange background.
Amid the multi-day right-wing media outrage cycle over the logo change, which has seen prominent conservative influencers and politicians accuse Cracker Barrel of going “woke,” Trump added his voice to the cacophony on Tuesday.
“Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” he wrote on his social media site Truth Social.
“They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today. Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again,” Trump added before praising himself. “Remember, in just a short period of time I made the United States of America the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. One year ago, it was ‘DEAD.’ Good luck!”
After the company saw its share prices dip following the rebrand announcement, the company issued a statement on Monday that acknowledged it could have “done a better job” while reiterating that “Uncle Herschel” will still remain an integral part of Cracker Barrel.
“If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the restaurant chain stated. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”
Stating that the “Uncle Herschel” character is “not going anywhere” because “he’s family,” the company insisted that the “things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere: rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
The swift backlash over the company’s image makeover led many conservatives to compare the situation to Bud Light’s brief 2023 advertising partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which sparked a right-wing boycott of the best-selling domestic beer.
“[W]e must break the Barrel,” right-wing activist Chris Rufo exclaimed last week. “It’s not about this particular restaurant chain – who cares – but about creating massive pressure against companies that are considering any move that might appear to be ‘wokification.’ The implicit promise: Go woke, watch your stock price drop 20 percent, which is exactly what is happening now.”
It was the over-the-top reaction from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who claimed he “gave my life to Christ in their parking lot” while fuming about the “woke rebrand,” that prompted at least one conservative columnist to urge her fellow Trump supporters to pump the brakes when it came to their complaints about wokeness.
“Not everything is woke,” National Review staff writer Caroline Downey remarked on Thursday night. “I think we’re abusing the term a little bit too much, where it’s losing its meaning, and that’s really important because some things actually are woke and we should call it like it is.”
In the end, though, it isn’t just conservatives who are not fans of the rebrand. According to a YouGov survey about the rebrand, 65 percent of Americans are aware of the new logo – with 76 percent of respondents saying they prefer the old logo.
Additionally, public opinion is skewed negatively, with 23 percent viewing the rebrand as positive compared to 38 percent who see it as negative. (Another 38 percent had neutral feelings about the issue.) 29 percent also said it makes them less likely to dine there, while only 9 percent said they’d be more likely to go to Cracker Barrel now.
