The controversy over a “pride month” campaign at Target has left them absorbing heavy losses at the behest of an unhappy customer base. As RedState reported, the retail giant’s problems started after it targeted children with transgender ideology via books and clothing.

Despite removing some of the offending items, including books that teach children to be “non-binary,” CEO Brian Cornell doubled down.

“I think those are just good business decisions, and it’s the right thing for society, and it’s the great thing for our brand,” Cornell said.

The executive, whose company employs more than 450,000 workers in more than 1,900 locations nationwide, said that the company’s strategy is aimed to cater to a diversifying customer base.

“The things we’ve done from a DE&I [diversity, equity, and inclusion] standpoint, it’s adding value,” Cornell said.

“It’s helping us drive sales, it’s building greater engagement with both our teams and our guests, and those are just the right things for our business today.”

Well, Cornell is right that it’s helping build engagement (in the worst way possible), but are his company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion actions “helping” to “drive sales?” Because from where I’m sitting, Target has royally ticked off a huge percentage of its customers in order to cater to a fraction of a percent who weren’t demanding the books be sold anyway.

In other words, this was completely self-inflicted, and the idea that DEI is somehow helping companies is laughable. It makes no sense. Had they just not stocked the books in question in the first place, both sides, including the pro-trans lobby, would have never thought twice about what Target was or wasn’t doing. These woke CEOs continue to drive their companies into the ground for what amounts to worthless, net-negative virtue signaling.

Unfortunately for Target, a new internal memo has leaked, and it’s not going to help them with the public.

BREAKING: I have obtained the internal email that @Target sent to their employees following the Pride month disaster that has caused them to lose $9B in one week, where is goes from standing with the "LGBTQIA+ community" to the anniversary of George Floyd lmfao. pic.twitter.com/GQVgrdmHDv

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 25, 2023

In the memo, the author cites Cornell to offer thanks for showing care to the “LGBTQIA+ community.” It then starts talking about remembering George Floyd and the resources available for those that apparently still in distress about the death of a man they didn’t know that occurred three years ago. I mean, what in the world?

Again, who is this stuff catering to? Who works at or shops regularly at Target and is really concerned about whether a store that sells clothes and toiletries is doing all it can to honor George Floyd? That’s exactly the kind of worthless virtue signaling I’m talking about. The obsession by major companies with injecting divisive political topics into their corporate structure is so self-destructive. People just want to be able to go buy stuff without having the latest left-wing pursuit pushed on them and their children.

I have to wonder how those pushing DEI even get into power. Is it the threat of targeted harassment from the left if they don’t fall in line? Whatever it is, it’s a bad calculation, and one Target should probably start regretting if they don’t want this to get worse. Conservatives aren’t playing around anymore, as Bud Light found out. If Target wants to be the next major target, pun intended, then that’s on them.