The right-wing outrage machine has now directed its full firepower on Cracker Barrel, the Southern comfort food restaurant chain set up like an old-fashioned general store.
Cracker Barrel, which was already facing attacks from the Stephen Miller-founded law group America First Legal for employing diversity hiring practices, drew fury this week after announcing a rebrand to its logo and restaurant layout, vastly simplifying everything into a more bland, corporate-looking appearance.
Because the new logo deletes the elderly farmer present on the old logo, some MAGA influencers on social media appear to believe it's an attempt to de-emphasize whiteness or traditional American values.
"In college, I worked at @CrackerBarrel in Tallahassee. I even gave my life to Christ in their parking lot," wrote Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) on X. "Their logo was iconic and their unique restaurants were a fixture of American culture. No one asked for this woke rebrand. It’s time to Make Cracker Barrel Great Again."
The account for the right-wing Hillsdale College posted a picture of the new Cracker Barrel logo next to a picture of a founding father statue vandalized with red paint, accompanied by the words, "Same energy."
"Alright, I'm hearing chatter from behind the scenes about the Cracker Barrel campaign and, on second thought: we must break the Barrel," wrote anti-"critical race theory" activist Chris Rufo. "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."
"Will you go to Cracker Barrel now that it's going woke? This could be a 'Bud Light' moment in the making..." wrote country music singer John Rich, referencing an intense right-wing boycott of the beer brand for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Some other commenters were amused and taken aback by the fiery intensity of the MAGA backlash to the Cracker Barrel rebrand.
"Watching the GOP unenthusiastically take up the Cracker Barrel logo change as their latest 'woke' outrage is so fascinating," wrote activist Charlotte Clymer. "They got their marching orders, but it didn't include any reasoning as to why the new logo is 'woke.' No one seems to know. But they got their orders and now must claim it is."