Target Blasted for Refusing to Sell Anti-Democratic Party Book: 'Pathetic'

Target has faced outrage from conservatives after an author said that the supermarket chain had refused to sell his latest book after concerns that "certain customers might be offended by the title."

On Wednesday, Mark Levin, a right-wing radio host and lawyer, said that the retail giant had informed Simon & Schuster, the publisher of his upcoming work The Democrat Party Hates America, that it would not carry the book upon its release on September 19.

It comes after Target was the subject of backlash and calls for a boycott over its LGBTQ+ Pride range, which the retailer said was forced to scale down following threats to staff. The controversies sit at the heart of the culture wars, and appear to pit Target against conservative shoppers.

However, Levin's upcoming book remains available for pre-order on Target's website, as of 5:35 a.m. ET on Thursday. Newsweek has contacted the retailer for comment and clarification on its position via email on Thursday.

"Target has informed my publisher, Simon & Schuster, that it will not carry my new book when it is released on September 19," Levin wrote in a tweet. "It claims that certain customers might be offended by the title. Imagine that! So, the corporatist left-wing censorship begins."

Later the same evening, he reiterated that the retailer was refusing to carry the book "because it might offend Democrats." He added: "Pathetic."

The book's synopsis says it "picks up where he left off" with his last work, American Marxist, which spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list when released in 2021. It adds that the former Reagan administration lawyer "proves that since its establishment, the Democrat Party has set out to rewrite history and destroy the foundation of freedom in America."

Other notable figures on the right showed their support for Levin following his accusations of corporate censorship.

"Let's give Mark Levin a big lift here," General Mike Flynn, the short-lived former national security adviser under Donald Trump, wrote in response. "I've read every book he's written and listen to his show routinely. This is simply another form of censorship."

"In case you needed another reason to boycott Target," tweeted The Blaze, an online conservative outlet first launched by right-wing radio host Glenn Beck.

"Not to worry," Ted Cruz, the junior Republican senator for Texas, wrote on Twitter. "Target has built up so much goodwill with conservatives that I'm sure they won't mind."

However, there were several Twitter users who backed Target, with one tweeting: "The book is literally called The Democrat Party Hates America. Not surprising Target isn't interested in selling a book the title of which slurs a huge chunk of its customer base."

Target previously removed some items from its LGBTQ+ Pride range that it said had been "at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior" following threats to staff. The goods include "tuck-friendly" swimsuits for transgender individuals and some children's items. Another product said to be removed was a children's book about gender.

Stores across the U.S. were subject to bomb threats over the controversy, while numerous LGBTQ+ organizations called on the brand to "speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ extremism."

Democrats are not the only ones to be accused of censoring books. In recent years, there has been a growing movement among conservative groups to ban books, particularly from schools, that they view as inappropriate—a sentiment that, in some states, has been codified into law.

In January, a school board in Virginia removed 21 titles from school libraries, citing their supposed adult content, including acclaimed works by Margaret Atwood, Stephen King and Toni Morrison.

In March, the America Library Association (ALA) reported that a record number of demands to censor library books had been lodged in 2022, with 2,571 separate titles targeted—a 38 percent increase from 2021.

While not attributing the bulk of the censorship to any one political faction, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA's office for intellectual freedom, said the primary aim was to "suppress" voices "traditionally excluded from our nation's conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color."

The same month, a parent in Utah challenged the state's ban on books in school libraries that are deemed pornographic by calling for the Bible to be removed on the grounds it was "one of the most sex-ridden books around," provoking the ire of local Christians. In June, Davis School District in the state removed the holy book on the grounds it contained passages of "vulgarity and violence."