Home Depot Faces Boycott Calls After Republican Donation Revelation

The Home Depot is facing fresh calls for a boycott following a report that the home-improvement company donated $1 million to Republicans who deny that former President Donald Trump legitimately lost the 2020 presidential election.

Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on Wednesday released an updated list of alleged corporate donors to the so-called “Sedition Caucus”—the group’s term for GOP lawmakers or committees supporting lawmakers who refused to certify President Joe Biden’s win on January 6, 2021.

The Home Depot was third on the list, trailing Boeing and top donor Koch Industries, the company headed by influential conservative donor Charles Koch. Other corporations that feature prominently on the list include AT&T, United Parcel Service (UPS), Lockheed Martin, Comcast and General Motors.

Newsweek reached out for comment to The Home Depot via email on Wednesday.

“Congratulations to @HomeDepot, which has officially donated $1,000,000 to support the members of Congress who voted not to certify the results of the 2020 election,” CREW posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning. “Bankrolling the Sedition Caucus is a choice, and Home Depot has doubled down!”

CREW’s report sparked almost immediate calls for a boycott by Democrats and other progressives on social media.

“So is it OK for democrats to boycott Home Depot now or would that be cancel culture?” liberal social media personality and journalist Ed Krassenstein posted to X. “Just trying to figure out the rules of the game.”

“I’m boycotting @HomeDepot for sure!” posted left-leaning Harvard University law professor emeritus Laurence Tribe.

“It’s time to BOYCOTT Home Depot,” @fiercefreckled posted. “They just gave $1,000,000 to Congress members that refused to certify the 2020 election in favor of Biden. They support fascism. Spread the word. Shop Lowes.”

“Boycott Home Depot (if you haven’t already),” posted @MadeInTheUSANJ. “Pass it along. (We don’t support the insurrection.)”

“Such a shame,” @neillwood posted. “Boycott Home Depot!”

“We must boycott them all,” posted @JimChoromanski. “Home Depot sucks anyhow, so it won’t be hard.”

Boycott calls stemming from the CREW report came less than 24 hours after 94-year-old Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who left the company in 2022 but retains a large amount of stock, vowed to donate to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign even if he is convicted of a crime.

Marcus, whose outspoken support for Republican candidates and causes has sparked multiple calls for boycotts over the years, told Reuters on Tuesday that he thought the ex-president’s 91 felony charges were “all trumped up.” His remarks also resulted in suggestions of a Home Depot boycott on X.

“I don’t jump on every boycott bandwagon but this fool has finally gone too far,” posted @LooWho72. “I’m done with @HomeDepot and will be cutting up my Home Depot credit card.”

“Another excellent time to remind people that, while the founder is no longer CEO, at last report, he still gets TONS of Home Depot stock dividends, so, yes, it still makes perfect sense to boycott and not give him money through HD dividends,” @TallMisterHall posted.

Others defended the company, with a number of conservatives claiming that progressives do not shop at do-it-yourself home-improvement stores.

“The funniest part about liberals threatening to boycott Home Depot is actually picturing a liberal working with their hands and needing to go to Home Depot in the first place,” posted @MaxyHoops.

“@HomeDepot is for working men and contractors @lowes is for the soy residential ‘saw this on pinterest’ crowd,” @DBakerOutdoors posted. “Home Depot will not lose a dime from the soy boycott. Thank you Home Depot for siding with our republic rather than the socialists -signed actual Home Depot customers.”

Some conservatives also called for a different boycott of Home Depot earlier this month. The company was listed as one of “five woke companies to boycott on Black Friday” by right-wing news website The Daily Caller on November 21.