Politixia
by Sarah Grace Taylor, Nashville Banner
June 17, 2026
See the ad: Here on Instagram
Transcript:
John Rose: “Everybody’s moving to Tennessee, even corporate headquarters like Starbucks. We can’t let them change our state.
“Starbucks pushed DEI and weird transgender stuff. Now they want $30 million in taxpayer dollars from us. No thanks.
“I’m John Rose. Like Trump, I’m a CEO. I make tough calls. As governor, I’ll protect our culture.
“If you come to Tennessee, you gotta become Tennessee.”
Narrator: “John Rose.”
Analysis: In his most recent ad launched on Facebook over the weekend, Rep. John Rose slams Starbucks, criticizing the Seattle-based coffee company for wanting to relocate to Tennessee, despite a history of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Rose, who’s running for governor, says in the ad that he’ll protect Tennessee’s culture, insisting that “if you come to Tennessee, you gotta become Tennessee,” and specifically criticizing the company for supporting DEI and “weird transgender stuff.”
In the ad, the Congressman dumps a cup of coffee with a mermaid logo spoofing that of Starbucks in the trash, signifying his distaste for a deal announced this spring in which the company would relocate part of its headquarters to Nashville. That deal has been controversial across the political spectrum because of the $30 million in public incentives from which the company stands to benefit. Starbucks employees have also reportedly denounced the move, citing cultural differences in the cities.
The spot is part of an onslaught of Rose ads this summer in the last leg of the primary, where he is in an uphill battle for name recognition against frontrunner Sen. Marsha Blackburn. It’s not the first ad in which Rose bemoans people and entities coming to Tennessee.
While the political ad focuses on the company’s perceived wokeness, a hot culture war topic among Tennesseeans likely to vote in the August Republican primary, Rose actually first complained about the deal back in May, calling the incentives “corporate welfare” in a Facebook post focused on the more material business proposition.
Rose, as he notes in the ad, is also CEO of Boson Software, which boasts on its website that it is an equal opportunity employer and formerly included a commitment not to discriminate based on citizenship status, which has since been removed. The company also participated in #BlackoutTuesday on social media in 2020, a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, before it was taboo to endorse equality during the second, anti-DEI Trump administration.
Rose’s commercial farm has also received at least $50,000 in federal agricultural subsidies over the last three decades.
In a recent radio appearance, Rose clarified that he’s not opposed to all public subsidies, but said Starbucks was not the right recipient.
In a statement to the Banner on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Rose said the Congressman was unaware of the 2020 posts by his company and said he would have it removed.
“Handing $30 million to a liberal Seattle corporation is wrong for Tennessee,” the spokesperson wrote. “John’s record on these issues is clear and he strongly disagrees with the post dug up from six years ago, which he had no knowledge of, and has directed it to be taken down.”
Where it’s running: Broadcast TV, Online
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