Liberals Crow After Target CEO Resigns Amid Backlash Over DEI Reversal: ‘Go Anti-Woke, Go Broke’
Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr under a CC BY 2.0 license.
Brian Cornell is stepping down from his role as CEO of Target as the beleaguered retailer struggles with declining sales, new costs from tariffs, and backlash over its reversal on DEI policies — a move that is being cheered by those on the left who have criticized the company.
The news of Cornell’s resignation was reported by CNN, noting that his “departure was widely expected.” His successor, effective February 1, 2026, will be the current chief operating officer, Michael Fiddelke, who has been with Target for 20 years, initially starting as an intern. Cornell will remain with Target, as its executive chairman.
“Target has been in a deep slump for years, a result largely of its own strategic missteps,” reported CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn. Challenges for the company included excess inventory as the pandemic ended, inflation, a higher percentage of merchandise that constitutes discretionary purchases, and growing competition from Walmart, Amazon, and Costco.
“Target is known for its trendier items, and the chain stocks more nonessential merchandise than its competitors,” wrote Meyersohn. “More than half of Target’s merchandise is discretionary,” while “[a]round half of Walmart’s business, for example, comes from groceries.”
On Wednesday, the company reported declining sales for the third quarter in a row, sending Target’s shares falling 10% in premarket trading. TGT, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the “worst performing companies in the S&P 500 this year,” according to CNN.
Political controversies have added to Target’s woes, coming from both sides of the partisan aisle. Conservatives were angered over LGBTQ-themed merchandise that was promoted during Pride Month — some of which was due to misinformation, but it still led to boycotts, customer complaints, threats to Target employees, and lawsuits filed by conservative legal groups.
Target withdrew some of the products, drawing fire from the left, and the decision to end some of the company’s DEI programs further fanned the flames. New boycotts were organized online by liberal activists, organizations, and elected officials. Even the daughters of one of Target’s co-founders, Anne and Lucy Dayton, called out the DEI reversal a “betrayal.”
Other companies, organizations, and educational institutions also rolled back DEI initiatives (short for “diversity, equity, and inclusion”) amid President Donald Trump attacking such policies as he started his second term, but Target took an especially hard hit because of “a more progressive base of customers than many competitors,” noted CNN.
The announcement of Cornell’s pending departure was cheered by Target’s critics on social media, although many questioned the long delay before the change would be effective, as well as the fact he would be replaced by another company insider. A selection of reactions is below.
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