Kristi Noem says she 'just can't shop at Target anymore' because it is 'tearing ... trends now
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has hit out at Target for funding a woke organization that wants to close Mount Rushmore, which it sees as a 'symbol of white supremacy.'
In an interview with FOX News host Steve Doocy on Fox and Friends Wednesday, Noem said that while she and other Americans loved shopping at Target 'we just can't anymore' because the company is 'fundamentally tearing down this country.'
Target has come under fire in recent weeks for its Pride display featuring 'tuck-friendly' swimsuits for women.
It was later revealed that its nonprofit organization has donated millions to a pro-LGBTQ organization that promotes keeping a child's gender identity from their parents and another group that calls for the return of Mount Rushmore to the Lakota people.
Target's market value plummeted by $14billion in the wake of the scandal, but has since ticked back up slightly, recouping $1billion of its losses.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Wednesday Americans should no longer shop at Target
She accused the company of 'fundamentally tearing down this country'
Target's market value has plummeted by $14billion, but has since ticked back up slightly, recouping $1billion of its losses.
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On Wednesday, Doocy spoke about Target's connection with the NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power, according to its website.
The FOX News host asked Noem what she thought of the connection, to which she replied: 'Well Steve it's crazy.
'They want to take away Mount Rushmore, shut it down, eliminate it. And it has long been an institution of what America stands for.'
She then went on to describe the group, which Target funded in 2022, as extremist, 'anti-America, anti-military, anti-cop, anti-veteran' and 'anti-Israel,' saying it is using the money it received from Target to 'infiltrate our American way of life and our value system.
'It's dangerous,' Noem added. 'And Steve, I'm like a lot of Americans, love to shop at Target. I mean, we do, but we just can't anymore.
'And while the rest of the country is worried about, you know, having fun and going shopping and enjoying a store, that store is fundamentally tearing down this country. And we have to have real conversations about how serious we are about protecting our freedom.'
Doocy agreed, noting that 'Target is having a bad month,' which Noem was said was 'well-deserved.'
Her comments come just one day after she tweeted about Target's support for the NDN Collective, writing: 'Target's leftist execs support giving away Mount Rushmore. Not on my watch. America's symbol of freedom will endure.'
Target has come under fire in recent weeks for its Pride display
Target sold 'tuck-friendly' women's bathing suits
On Tuesday, Noem tweeted that she will not allow the cessation of Mount Rushmore
The NDN Collective calls for the return of public land, supports Israel opening to those who identify as Palestinian refugees, and reportedly maintains 'hostile views' on the military, as they see to have the United States 'demilitarized.'
'The closure of Mount Rushmore, return of that land and all public lands in the Black Hills, South Dakota is our cornerstone battle,' NDN said of its campaign LANDBACK.
'Not only does Mount Rushmore sit in the heart of the sacred Black Hills, but it is an international symbol of White supremacy and colonization. To truly dismantle white supremacy and systems of oppression, we have to go back to the roots. Which, for us, is putting Indigenous Lands back in Indigenous hands.'
As for the U.S. military, the NDN has said that 'violence is fundamental for the U.S. to maintain its presence.'
'[T]he U.S. military is in the explicit business of taking land away from communities all around the world and using their presence on their land to carry out their own agenda for the inhabitants of that area,' it said.
'Violence is fundamental for the U.S. to maintain its presence, and the military is how they establish dominance domestically and internationally, wherever they may be.'
Target ramped up its diversity program with new chief, Kiera Fernandez, who previously said 'white women' should get to work to battle systemic racism
The NDN added: 'The purpose of these informal militias however was not to keep the police or protect citizens, but to clear the land of as many Natives as possible by killing indiscriminately, and catching runaway enslaved Africans.'
It is just one of the many woke organizations funded by the company under chief Kiera Fernandez, who previously called on 'White women' to battle systemic racism.
The company has also donated over $2.1 million to the pro-gay organization GLSEN, whose policies include ensuring school staff should 'ensure that all personally identifiable and medical information relating to transgender and nonbinary students is kept confidential'.
The retail chain says on its website
