Tech CEO who went viral for pro-Trump email defends call to action over 'political hate'

A tech CEO who went viral after sending his customer database a "Trump 2024" message defended his call to action over political "hate" ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino spoke with Fox News Digital to discuss what prompted him to take action against the politically charged "haters" with the now-viral email and X post, and explained how business moguls can utilize their platforms to make a difference and foster political tolerance. 

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"I think anyone that's influential in general should speak up and help solve this problem," Constantino said. "The only way it's going to go away is if influential people that can speak to both sides speak up… I know for a fact there's a lot of… good-hearted people, kind-hearted people, like myself, and just people of great backgrounds like myself that are quiet Trump supporters. Everybody knows this."

"I've been saying for a while, if everyone spoke up in unison, this problem would go away very quickly," he continued. "Whether you're a CEO or… a business or athlete or academic or whoever you are."

In a statement on X, Sticker Mule spoke out against the second assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend, when a 58-year-old man was arrested for allegedly pointing an AK-47 through a fence, not far from where Trump was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

"They try to bankrupt him with lawfare. They try to hurt his family. They try to put him in jail. And now, they tried to kill Trump twice. Will they start trying to kill Trump supporters next? Anti-Trump hate is a BIG problem that must be fixed. Lots of people are speaking up to fix it, but the people who lit the fire must apologize to restore UNITY to America," the post said.  

The company continued by calling out key political figures like Hillary Clinton and President Biden, demanding they apologize for encouraging political hate.

Constantino, who runs the custom printing company, sparked an online firestorm in July, after he sent an email and a text message to the company's entire marketing list in response to the first assassination attempt against Trump with the subject line, "Trump 2024."

It read, "People are terrified to admit they support Trump. I’ve been scared myself. Americans shouldn’t live in fear. I support Trump. Many at Sticker Mule do. Many at Sticker Mule also support Biden. The political hate needs to stop." 

Constantino also blasted the message on X, which resulted in a swarm of both backlash and support for the bold stance. 

He explained that his policy — although not strictly enforced — is not to talk politics at work, but said he feels the action was essential in taking a stance against society's double standard to ensure voters are able to express themselves without fear of retaliation. 

Some critics, however, took their outrage too far, flooding customer support employees with hate mail and death threats, according to Constantino, who took action almost immediately after speaking to his PR director by issuing a "goodwill" investment to 79 employees.

"He [PR director] told me there was a problem [and] people getting beat up and having read all sorts of terrible emails, and so right away, I got on the phone [with] our CFO, we decided to do $2,500 bonuses."

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Despite reports about some workers being upset over the decision to blast his "Trump 2024" message out, Constantino claimed that "nobody quit."

"I've been around doing this for 14 years, and I guess I built enough goodwill with my staff over the years that… whether people agree or disagree, I think everyone knows who I am," he said. "Everyone… was understanding because I built so much goodwill, and I tell people all the time, you got to just keep investing in your people, keep investing and building that goodwill because… one day when you do something that maybe they don't like… you can spend some of that capital… emotional capital… or whatever you want to call it that you built up over the years."

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The CEO also claims to have fostered a workplace that is inherently focused on the company's innovative projects and less about presidential elections. 

"We try to create an environment where… as long as you come up, you show [up] to work every day, and you're pleasant... to interact with [and] you get along with your coworkers… you're going to be successful here," Constantino explained. "And that, just the way we operate… I don't know the views of most people. Like I said, as a general principle, it's not strictly enforced, but… I don't really discuss politics at work."

He added that his political message about Trump was necessary, however, to ensure that no one, regardless of their political beliefs, was afraid to speak their mind amid the polarizing election. 

Constantino officially endorsed Trump last week, who he called the "max happiness president," in a post on X. He touted him for his humor, courage, and his policies on the economy, immigration and foreign affairs.

Despite some negative fallout from the pro-Trump email, the company launched a digital storefront effort and said their business is booming.

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