The Utah coffee company behind Trump's White House dirt bike show

The Utah coffee company behind Trump's White House dirt bike show

A Utah coffee company got major airtime this weekend as the chief sponsor of President Trump's birthday dirt bike show on the White House lawn.

The intrigue: West Valley City-based Black Rifle Coffee is among the corporate advertisers critics are accusing of using the White House and other National Park Service sites for commercial gain.

Driving the news: Black Rifle's logo appeared behind the "Nitro Circus" ramp as motocross stars like Travis Pastrana and Ricky Carmichael soared and flipped over the south lawn Saturday as part of the "UFC250" cage fight Trump staged this weekend to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Catch up quick: This was far from Black Rifle Coffee's first foray into right-wing politics.

  • The anti-"hipster" company supports the conservative-leaning "Blue Lives Matter" movement, and its marketing borrows heavily from imagery and aesthetics popularized by gun enthusiasts, Mother Jones reported.
  • The company expressed "disgust" with Starbucks' 2017 effort to hire Syrian refugees, characterizing it as an affront to veterans amid a pro-Trump boycott.
  • It's been endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. and Sean Hannity.

    • The other side: After viral photos showed the company's merchandise being worn by Jan. 6 insurrectionists and Kyle Rittenhouse, company statements tried to distance the brand from right-wing extremism.

  • That led to backlash from some of its conservative fans.

    • The company did not respond to Axios' query about its involvement in the weekend's event.

    The big picture: Massive corporate ads from other companies also appeared at the UFC fight itself and an earlier weigh-in at the Lincoln Memorial.

    Zoom out: Lawyers for previous presidents of both parties have described corporate sponsorship at White House events as unethical "influence peddling."

    The fine print: In a failed legal effort to stop the weekend's events, ethics watchdog groups joined two Virginia residents in describing the display as "a corrupt bargain" in which Trump granted "an extraordinary business opportunity" to the companies involved.

  • A federal judge allowed the events to proceed, saying the residents lacked legal standing for an injunction.

    • Zoom in: Other critics called the events and advertising "vulgar," "a mark of decline" and — wryly — "a perfect representation of where we are as a country."

  • The appearance of U.S. Marines at attention in front of the ramp also drew ire.