Retail giant Target moved to clear up “confusion” on Thursday over balking at selling top talker Mark Levin’s upcoming book because the title might offend some Democrats and shoppers.
In a statement to Secrets, Target said that it is selling pre-orders of Levin’s latest book, The Democrat Party Hates America. It also plans to sell the book after its public release in mid-September.
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“They reversed course,” Levin told Secrets on Thursday.
The company said it raised concerns about the word “hate” in the title, leading Levin’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, to tell him that the company wouldn’t carry the book on its Sept. 19 release.
Target just informed my publisher that it has reversed course and will be taking my new book in its stores upon its release.
You folks are an immense force for free speech and market capitalism, and conservative authors and audiences everywhere will benefit from your patriotism.… pic.twitter.com/sCesaXgRKB
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 6, 2023
Levin told Secrets that Target told his team that it wouldn’t sell the book in stores because “the title was too controversial.”
But Levin said that the company has “reversed course, and they’re taking books, a significant number for the stores.”
He added that no other retailer has balked at the title, including Walmart, Books-A-Million, and Barnes & Noble.
“They’ve apologized for all the back and forth, but that’s the bottom line,” said Levin.
Target told us, “We’ve been offering this book for pre-sale since mid-June. As we have with Mark Levin’s past books, many of which are currently available for sale at Target, we’ll offer his newest title for sale when it is available on September 19. The use of the word ‘hate’ in the title caused our team to reach out to the publisher, but as stated, we are continuing to offer this book for pre-sale now and it will be available for sale on its release date. We regret any confusion this situation caused.”
The controversy was sparked late Wednesday when Levin tweeted out, “Target has informed my publisher, Simon & Schuster, that it will not carry my new book when it is released on September 19. It claims that certain customers might be offended by the title. Imagine that! So, the corporatist leftwing censorship begins.”
Target will not carry THE DEMOCRAT PARTY HATES AMERICA because it might offend Democrats. Pathetic. You can go to https://t.co/qUZvhEf1BI and order directly, without going through Democrat-Party corporatists. I want to thank Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Books-A- Million for… pic.twitter.com/pqzZVgGqAC
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) July 6, 2023
He called on fans to ramp up pre-orders on Amazon to show critics that it will be another of his nearly dozen New York Times bestsellers. “Let’s send a big message and drive pre-order sales way up on Amazon’s list,” he tweeted.
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It worked. Already the 11th best seller of all books on Amazon on Wednesday, Levin’s call out for more buys raised his book to fourth on the list, more than impressive for one that is in pre-sales.
It is the second time Target has reversed course on policies seen as “woke.” In May, after it poured in LGBT items to sell during “Pride Month,” it removed some after a consumer backlash.
The No. 1 conservative talker’s highly anticipated book is an amped-up version of his syndicated radio show and weekly TV feature on Fox, Life, Liberty & Levin.
“It’s brass knuckles, baby,” he told us.
