Gov. Huckabee Blasts Chick-fil-A for Selling Out to Leftists Who Will Hate It Anyway
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee let Chick-fil-A have it for the company’s decision to stop giving to charities like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes because they support Biblical marriage.
On Monday, Chick-fil-A announced it will now give through its foundation to three charities in each city the chain does business.
Each charity must be linked to the company’s core issues of “education, homelessness and hunger.”
Chick-fil-A’s dollars will flow to Junior Achievement USA, Covenant House International (which is Christian-affiliated) and local food banks.
“This provides more focus and more clarity,” Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos told Bisnow. “We think [education, hunger and homelessness] are critical issues in communities where we do business in the U.S.”
Huckabee, who was at the forefront of defending Chick-fil-A from the left’s wrath after CEO Dan Cathy voiced support for Biblical marriage in 2012, decried the company’s change as “betrayal.”
“In Aug 2012, I coordinated a national @ChickfilA Appreciation Day after they were being bullied by militant hate groups,” Huckabee tweeted. “Millions showed up. Today, @ChickfilA betrayed loyal customers for $$. I regret believing they would stay true to convictions of founder Truett Cathey. Sad.”
In Aug 2012, I coordinated a national @ChickfilA Appreciation Day after they were being bullied by militant hate groups. Millions showed up. Today, @ChickfilA betrayed loyal customers for $$. I regret believing they would stay true to convictions of founder Truett Cathey. Sad.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 18, 2019
“The sad message of @ChickfilA is quite clear- they surrendered to anti- Christian hate groups. Tragic,” he added in another tweet.
In May, Chick-fil-A defended giving to groups like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Rodney Bullard, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of corporate social responsibility and executive director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, told Business Insider at the time its contributions to these groups are directed at helping young people.
“The calling for us is to ensure that we are relevant and impactful in the community, and that we’re helping children and that we’re helping them to be everything that they can be,” Bullard said.
“For us, that’s a much higher calling than any political or cultural war that’s being waged,” he continued. “This is really about an authentic problem that is on the ground, that is present and ever-present in the lives of many children who can’t help themselves.”
The foundation supported the Salvation Army’s camps for kids, as well as its Angel Tree Christmas gift program for families in need.
Meanwhile, the company’s support of Fellowship of Christian Athletes went toward summer sports camps the Chick-fil-A Foundation hosted to introduce inner-city youth to sports such as golf, tennis and archery.
Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose is “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”
The Atlanta-based chain’s founder, the late S. Truett Cathy, once said, “We should be about more than just selling chicken. We should be a part of our customers’ lives and the communities in which we serve.”
Chick-fil-A, of course, is to be commended for wanting to give back to the community.
However, many of the groups doing the most good, including spreading the hope-filled message of the Gospel, are Christian.
It’s regrettable that Chick-fil-A has apparently lost its true core by seeking to meet the politically correct demands of the hour.
Jesus stood up to the pharisaical bigots in his day; Chick-fil-A should do the same now.
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