Former Trump Spokeswoman Calls Pride Merchandise Sold at Target ‘Satanist’
McEnany and Lahren crow about right-wingers' attacks on Pride
Pride Month for the LGBTQ community is coming up quick, and it seems like right-wingers have devised their own, perverse way to celebrate the month of June: by demonizing merchandise on sale to celebrate Pride and push it as far back into the shadows as they can.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York, which is commonly seen as the beginning of the modern fight for LGBTQ rights.
In recent years, corporations have joined in, commercializing Pride with a wide variety of products and merchandise.
This year, anti-LGBTQ forces on the political right have turned a special focus on attacking those products and the companies offering them.
They have particularly focused on the chain retailer, Target.
Hard-right propagandist and white nationalist Charlie Kirk, for instance, has been inciting his audience to go after Target with “force” over Pride merchandise.
But such views have not been limited to Kirk, and Target has responded to such intimidation and violence by knuckling under to the pressure and moving Pride merchandise from the front of its stores, to the back. And, in some cases, removing items entirely.
Kayleigh McEnany, a Fox News host and former White House press secretary for Trump, whipped up anti-Pride fervor herself with right-wing influencer Tomi Lahren.
“Tomi, who at Target thought it was a good idea, and they have since pulled the clothing, thought it was a good idea to put a Satanist clothing line in their store?” McEnany asked.
“I guess they think we are stupid and we wouldn’t figure this out. But I’ll tell you, Kayleigh, you know, I’m here in Nashville, Tenn., and I can confirm that my local Target has moved all this Pride paraphernalia to the back of the store, whereas last week it was prominently displayed in the front of the store,” Lahren responded. “So, conservatives are making a difference, right? For so long, a fraction of a minority of the population has been allowed to run roughshod over the rest of us, and conservatives and Christians have had to sit back and nod our heads and not say anything.
“But ever since we were able to really tank Bud Light by about 30 percent, we have realized the conservative power as consumers,” Lahren added, referring to recent right-wing outrage and boycotts of Bud Light beer over its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman. “And we are taking that and we are running with it. This isn’t about being anti-gay or anti-trans. This is about standing up and making sure that families and children can go into a family shopping place, like Target once was, and not be bombarded with what I call Pride-paganda. All right? It doesn’t belong there.
“These junk-tucking swimsuits do not belong in the front of the store marketed towards children it. It just simply does not belong there, and Target might have to figure that out the hard way,” Lahren said, referring to trans-friendly swimsuits which Target had had on sale.
Target has only been selling tuck-friendly swimsuits made for adults — and not, contrary to false online rumors, for kids or in kid sizes, the Associated Press found.
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