‘No Kings’ Ad From Walmart Heiress Draws MAGA Ire – Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Retailer Walmart Inc WMT has been battling with the Donald Trump administration over tariffs and may have a new fight on its hands with Trump fans thanks to an heiress of the company’s founding family.
What Happened: Walmart and the Trump administration have been going back and forth on tariffs and whether the retailer can publicly say it is passing costs onto consumers.
An additional issue, which could possibly mean the retailer finds itself with fewer customers, is if it battles too hard with Trump fans due to Christy Walton.
Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The Walmart heiress funded a full-page ad for the “No Kings” movement placed in the New York Times, the New York Post reported.
The ad calls for a nationwide protest against Trump and asks Americans and other citizens to “mobilize” on Saturday, which is Trump’s birthday and the day of a large military parade in the nation’s capital.
Walton’s funded ad also calls on Americans to “reject authoritarianism.”
According to the report, the “No Kings” movement is planning around 1,500 nationwide protests on Saturday. The report notes that the movement is not holding a protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday on purpose.
“The honor, dignity, and integrity of our country are not for sale,” the ad reads, alongside a QR code that shows the map of protest locations.
A Christy Walton spokesperson said the ad does not encourage violent protests, but rather to “engage peacefully and civically.”
“Christy has provided no funding to organizations or individuals involved in the demonstrations in Los Angeles or other cities, nor has she provided any funding to those organizing the upcoming events,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Walton believes Americans have the right to protest, but not the right to violence.
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Why It’s Important: Walton is not involved in Walmart’s operations, but her actions could end up hurting the future growth and revenue of the company her former husband’s family founded. She maintains a 1.9% stake in the company.
Walton is worth $18.6 billion according to Bloomberg, ranking 117th among the world’s billionaires. This trails other Walton figures like her son Lukas Walton, who is the 39th richest person worth $41.1 billion, and her husband’s siblings Jim, Rob and Alice Walton, who rank 13th, 14th and 15th worth $119 billion, $117 billion and $116 billion, respectively.
The White House responded to the ad and brushed aside Walton’s criticism.
“Great, a left-wing billionaire feels like burning some of her inheritance for a PR stunt,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Post.
Desai said the ad would not change the fact that more than 77 million Americans voted for Trump and his “America First trade policies.”
Some Trump allies indirectly and directly called for a boycott of Walmart.
White House special adviser Kari Lake shared the ad on X and asked her followers, “Do you shop at Walmart?”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted on X that Walton is funding ads for “No Kings Day,” while naming her as a Walmart heiress.
“Looks like the Walmart dynasty is big mad about China tariffs,” Luna said.
Trump supporter Roger Stone encouraged people to boycott Walmart.
“The Walmart heiress subsidizes insurrection. Next up, peaceful protests outside all of their stores to encourage people not to shop there. Essentially what left-wing stooges did to Tesla,” Stone said.
Walmart has tried to distance itself from Walton.
“The advertisement from Christy Walton [is] in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart,” Walmart spokesperson Joe Pennington said.
Pennington said Walton “has no active role in company decisions.”
This could end up being an unfortunate situation for Walmart and shareholders as a major boycott effort by Trump fans could impact sales. Walmart locations are often times found in rural locations and small cities that have leaned towards voting for Trump in recent elections.
WMT Price Action: Walmart stock closed down 1.01% to $94.83 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $65.95 to $105.30. Walmart stock is up 5.4% year-to-date in 2025.
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