No, Starbucks is not sponsoring the Republican National Convention

CLAIM: Starbucks is sponsoring the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Starbucks is providing coffee and other beverages to first responders at five RNC venues through a partnership with the Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee, according to a spokesperson for the company. It is not providing a cash sponsorship of any kind. The company has a similar partnership planned with the Chicago 2024 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention in August, the spokesperson said. Both host committees are nonpartisan, nonprofit entities that serve as liaisons between the Republican or Democratic National Committee, respectively, as well as each convention’s host city and state.

THE FACTS: Social media users are claiming that Starbucks, known for taking strong positions in support of progressive political issues, is sponsoring the RNC.

“After years of identifying as a progressive employer, Starbucks is now sponsoring the Republican National Convention,” reads one X post that had received approximately 13,000 likes and more than 5,800 shares as of Wednesday.

Another X post, with approximately 6,000 likes and more than 1,300 shares simply states: “Starbucks sponsoring the RNC is wild.”

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Many users are also calling for a boycott of the company in response to the alleged sponsorship, often along with the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks.

But Starbucks is not providing the RNC with a cash sponsorship of any kind, Jaci Anderson, a spokesperson for the company, told The Associated Press. Rather, it is providing coffee at five RNC venues to first responders who are working at the RNC in an official capacity. That includes groups such as EMTs, firefighters and the National Guard.

Starbucks has partnered with the Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee — not the Republican National Committee — to deliver this service.

The latter is a partisan committee that organizes and runs the convention, while the former acts as a nonpartisan liaison between the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin and the Republican National Committee. Responsibilities of the host committee include signing contracts, securing venues and working with local leaders to prepare Milwaukee to host the convention, according to its website.

The Federal Election Commission describes the primary purpose of a host committee as “the encouragement of commerce in the convention city and the projection of a favorable image of the city to convention attendees.” In contrast, it states that “a convention committee represents a political party in making arrangements for that party’s convention to nominate a candidate for the office of President and Vice President.”

Anderson added that Starbucks has a similar partnership planned with the Chicago 2024 Host Committee, as opposed to the Democratic National Committee, for the Democratic National Convention next month. In addition to first responders, this partnership will also provide coffee and other beverages to volunteers.

“Our support of first responders and volunteers at the conventions is an extension of our ongoing commitment to the communities where we operate — which includes Milwaukee and Chicago,” she wrote.
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This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.