Fewer Americans in new poll support businesses taking public stance on current events

Roughly 2 in 5 American adults in a new poll said they support businesses weighing in on current events — and that number is drastically falling amid a wave of culture war clashes.

Those who identified as Democrats were much more likely (61 percent) than Republicans (17 percent) to want businesses to pick a side, the Bentley University/Gallup survey found. About 36 percent of independents agreed that businesses should take a public position on current events.

The number of Democrats who said they want businesses to chime in has also dropped dramatically in the past year — down from 75 percent in 2022.

The survey comes as several companies from Disney to Anheuser-Busch have faced backlash, and even far-right boycotts, after taking more liberal positions — including supporting abortion and LGBTQ rights.

The poll found that respondents who identified as Black (61 percent) or Hispanic (48 percent) were more likely than white respondents (35 percent) to believe businesses should take a public stance.

Younger adults were also more likely than older adults to prefer businesses to take positions on current events. More than half of respondents aged 18 to 29 said they support businesses taking a stance.

Across the board, respondents were most likely to support businesses taking a position on climate change (55 percent), but they were least likely to support businesses taking a position on religion (15 percent).

Conservative governors across the country, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, have taken on companies for what they’ve deemed to be “woke” ideologies.

For example, when The Walt Disney Co. publicly took a position against the Parental Rights in Education legislation, which became known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, DeSantis restructured the special district that included Disney World in Orlando.

In another case, Anheuser-Busch faced a steep decline in sales of Bud Light after the company partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year, sparking a boycott from conservatives for the collaboration. 

The Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report, conducted between May 8-15, is based on a web survey of 5,458 U.S. adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.8 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.