Target Sales Drop Celebrated After Pride Boycott: 'Worse Than Bud Light'

Conservative commentators have taken to social media to celebrate the 4.8 percent reduction in sales at retail giant Target which was announced in the company's latest earnings report, with one activist describing it as "worse than Bud Light."

The second quarter results cover June, when many people began boycotting Target in response to products it sold as part of its Pride Month range, some of which appeared to be aimed at children.

A number of prominent brands have been hit by boycott campaigns over the past few months, most notably Bud Light which was targeted after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In the four-week period ending on July 1, Bud Light revenue sales fell by 28 percent, compared to the same period in 2022, according to NielsenIQ sales data, obtained by Newsweek.

Responding to the latest Target figures conservative commentator and chief creating officer at Turning Point USA ,Benny Johnson, released a video the title of which describing the results as "worse than Bud Light."

Referring to conservatives in the video he commented: "We are powerful, we are so much more powerful than they ever want to admit, we are legion and we can crush the largest brands in the world just by saying so."

British conservative commentator Nile Gardiner, who advised Margaret Thatcher on foreign policy after she left office, gave his reaction on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

He posted: "The wokeists are in retreat. Target Sales Are Punished by Pride Month Backlash. Retailer lowers profit goal for full year; executives say they will modify Pride Month promotion."

The End Wokeness X account, which has 1.5 million followers, posted: "Bud Light sales are still down 26%. Target just had its first sales drop in 6 years.

"Disney lost $1.9 billion at the box office over the last 15 months. Keep hitting them where it hurts."

Rogan O'Handley, a self-described "anti-woke patriot" with 1 million X followers, posted: "You see this? Target reports 1st sales slump in *6 years*.

"Blames it on Trans merch for kids (designed by a Satanist). You come after our kids, we're coming after your profits."

The satanist attack appears to be a reference to Erik Carnell, a 29-year-old designer from London who created a number of items for Target's Pride range. Carnell sold a number of designs referencing Satan on his personal store, including a medallion bearing the slogan "Satan respects pronouns."

However, speaking to The Washington Post Carnell strongly denied being a satanist, commenting: "For starters, I don't believe in Satan.

"If I believed in Satan, I'd have to believe in the Bible — and I consider myself an atheist."

Conservative anger at Target was focused on the stores selling a number of products aimed at children, including a T-shirt bearing the words "trans people will always exist" and a babygrow emblazed with the slogan "bien proud" written in rainbow flag colors.

Target later removed some items from their Pride Month range, claiming they were "impacting our team members' sense of safety and wellbeing."

In June, Target spokesperson Kayla Castaneda commented: "Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."