UMich Prof: Target boycotts are 'literally terrorism'

Justin Wolfers, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, recently called the continued boycotts of Target’s LGBT Pride apparel a form of “economic terrorism” during an appearance on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.

When questioned about the “anti-LGBTQ movement,” Wolfers responded that it was “scary” that a large corporation like Target would actually “[cave] into this.” Indicating that the boycotts might allegedly impact the “safety of [Target’s] employees” and cause the company to retract some products, he asserted that “this is economic terrorism, literally terrorism.”

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Not only has backlash to Target’s Pride collection been in response to its selling of “tuck-friendly” and “extra crotch coverage” women’s swimsuits, but also in response to its release of Pride clothing from an openly Satanic designer. Target has also donated millions of dollars to GLSEN, an LGBT group that advocates for teachers to hide their students’ gender identities from parents, in addition to promoting sexually explicit books in school libraries. 

The Target boycotts began last month after the company’s Pride displays were revealed, some directed at babies and children. Citing threats to employees, Target announced on May 24 that it would be “removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”

A fellow at the left-wing Brookings Institution, Wolfers sympathized with the retail giant, saying “they just want to sell stuff.” He blamed Governor Ron DeSantis and “what he’s doing in Florida, [and] what he’s doing with Disney.”

In response to Disney’s ongoing promotion of far-left ideologies in kids’ content, DeSantis signed a bill in February that revokes the self-governing, independent status of a Disney-controlled special district, which granted the company exclusive tax and business privileges in Florida.

“I remember a time when my Republican friends talked about the problems of big government,” Wolfers lamented. “I’m with my libertarian friends: I don’t want the government deciding for me what is on the shelves of Target, and what theme park I can go to, and what’s profitable for businesses to pursue.”

The professor also indicated that Target might have a “corporate social responsibility” to not give in to the pressure. “If it gives in here, everyone else, and everyone else’s employees have to look out,” he said.

Wolfers was not alone in defending Target’s Pride collection.

“These companies aren’t woke,” suggested show host Stephanie Ruhle.

“They want to sell product. They know what Gen Z wants to buy, they know who they want to employ, and they want to make the most amount of money they can,” she added.

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Co-panelist Tim Miller, a former communications director for Jeb Bush, rebuked Republicans for having “eschewed their classical libertarian economic policies in favor of a more authoritarian economic policy” that “threatens” big businesses that “speak out” against a “traditionalist, revanchist, world-view.”

Miller blamed the “radicalization” of conservatives and the “MAGA Right” for “physical threats and violence.” He also complained that in states like Florida or Tennessee, people “can be carrying firearms in Target parking lots.”

Miller also suggested that culture war issues like boycotting LGBT-themed products and corporate wokeism were “losers,” informing the panel it was “not popular” to tell a “senior in high school” that “you can’t go to a drag brunch.” 

Ben Collins, a reporter on “disinformation and extremism on the internet,” blamed “far-right” figures like The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh for “[supporting] this online community that is getting increasingly radical, and increasingly angry.” Both Miller and Ruhle concurred that “in the real world,” normal people would “just move along.”

Target has suffered $15 billion in cap losses since the boycotts began, according to Fox Business. 

Target has also received various bomb threats by who, in the words of one threat, claim the company “is full of cowards who turned their back on the LGBT community and decided to cater to the homophobic right wing redneck bigots who protested and vandalized their store.” 

Campus Reform contacted Wolfers for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. This story will be updated accordingly.