A controversial image claiming to feature a statement from the Lowe’s CEO about conservatives and Home Depot is making the rounds on social media. The alleged quote from CEO Marvin Ellison on MSNBC tells conservatives to take their money to Home Depot if they don’t like Lowe’s values. This has caused many commenters on X (formerly Twitter) to angrily comment that, well, they’ll do just that. However, Lowe’s has since responded to the claim and is trying to correct the record.
Did Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison really tell conservatives to shop at Home Depot?
In a statement on X, Lowe’s has repeatedly stated that the supposed Marvin Ellison quote about conservatives and Home Depot is ‘false.’ The home improvement store made a short and sweet response:
This statement is false. Lowe’s CEO did not make this comment. Everyone is welcome at Lowe’s.
One of the first images with the alleged quote was posted on August 23, and Lowe’s has since been replying to many users who have reposted it. However, the image is still spreading like wildfire, despite it being reported on X as “manipulated media.”
The original image used for the post is a screenshot that was taken from a CNBC segment (at around the 0:48 mark) on August 20, 2024 discussing Lowe’s cutting its full-year outlook. The original quote in the graphic was “Inflation remains high. And big-ticket purchases are being delayed as customers sit back and wait for interest rates to fall.”
This isn’t the first that Lowe’s has been the target of memes against Home Depot. In 2020, Lowe’s created a $25 million fund to help minority businesses reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, something which a meme pounced upon.
However, looking at Lowe’s political contributions for the 2024 political cycle via Open Secrets, the home improvement company has actually contributed to both democrats and republicans, including the campaigns for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. At the time of writing, it has so far donated about $166,000 to Democrats and $93,000 to Republicans this year.
