Ben Cohen

In a recent interview, co-founder Ben Cohen revealed that the company's new owner, Magnum, forbade the Ben and Jerry's socials from criticizing Trump or Trumpism.

Cohen, who started the company in 1978 with Jerry Greenfield, sold the company in 2000 with an explicit contractual agreement that the brand must maintain a three-part core mission, which includes a focus on quality, economic growth, and progressive social activism.

Cohen went so far as to say Trumpism was the biggest threat to Ben and Jerry's values since its founding and says suppressing its voice on social justice issues could irreparably damage the brand.

The feud has been simmering for months, and Cohen and Greenfield are pushing for Magnum to sell the company to socially aligned investors.

You know, I think it's about 50-50.

I think that the ice cream has to be great.

People are really into the ice cream and they're really into the social causes and ethics.

You know, sometimes in the past, I've said that it's kind of like 30-30-30, that 30% really love the company because of its social stands.

30% don't really care.

They're indifferent.

And 30% don't really like the social stands, but the company continues to grow.

What we've noticed is that as the company takes more and more stands on political issues and how it uses its power, you know, for economic, social, racial justice,

if we continue to sell more and more ice cream.

No, I think you can do it at the very beginning.

You know, that's what Ben and Jerry's did, and it seems to have worked.

Actually, I think it's harder if you add it later on.

If it was insincere or something?

I don't know.

It's not necessarily insincere, but the basis of your business, it's the idea of that thing about mission.

that from the beginning, if your mission is about serving the needs of society along with serving great food, you don't have to change.