Trump's Real "DEI" Policy

There Is, In Fact, A Method to the Madness

Courtesy Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed/Getty Images

Two weeks into the second Trump administration, the firehose of bad news, insanity, unconstitutionality, illegality, unfitness for office, and general badness continues unabated. The White House is the Mos Eisley of Washington, DC: A wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Understanding why they are doing and saying the things they are requires us to look through two prisms:

1. The Average Voter: Do they believe anyone who voted for Trump cares about (or disagrees with) what’s happening? Do they worry that anyone who didn’t vote for either candidate is worried, or willing to take the time to watch? Do they believe that anyone who voted for Kamala Harris will do much more than spin like tops at every new outrage? They are not worried about anyone, you and me included.

2. The Purpose Behind Their Words and Deeds: This is the more important, more impactful, more long-term, and more existential glass through which to view our new reality. Very simply, their actions are designed to:

   1. Further separate and/or diminish the legitimacy of the political elite and the federal government from the people at large;

   2. Increase to lightspeed the ‘othering’ of out-groups, enemies, and those out of favor.

Let’s begin with DEI, and why Trumpists are so motivated to blame it for anything and everything that has gone wrong, is going wrong, and will go wrong. They know their liberal opponents can’t deny themselves a shiny object. They blame a tragic plane crash on this policy and watch the talking heads and lefties go crazy.

The real reason behind the DEI craze is the same as it was for critical race theory, ‘predators’ in the 1990s, welfare queens, and any other race-based epithet. It’s a code. They change the code words every few years to refresh the outrage. In the process, they turn DEI from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into:

Dehumanize: Turn subjects (ie people) into objects.

Exlude: Make clear that the ruling class sees any gains as illegitimate and soon-to-be reversed.

Isolate: Atomize non-majority or disfavored groups so that they see themselves as without options, demoralizing them and taking them out of the fight.

If we look back at the last century, right up to the present day, we see that this is a classic part of the tyrant’s playbook. This process, if allowed to continue, will sweep up more groups - actual human beings - as it goes. The actions taken against minorities and trans activists will soon find their way to the Army captain who didn’t show enough loyalty or the average Joe who didn’t say the right thing at the bar.

Elon Musk’s defenestration of the US Agency for International Development is another example. Even before he and his band of Elonjugend threw everyone out and closed the place down, I’d heard they were removing any imagery of the work USAID does to the tune of $40 billion a year.

Though I haven’t seen any of the posters or pictures, it’s easy to guess that most of them were not images of blond haired northern Europeans. Perhaps pictures of a water project in Africa or a new road in the Middle East. Either way, for the Trump people, way too much time and money is being spent on shithole countries.

Aside: There’s a column to be written on the historical aberration of a hegemon renouncing its global power to the benefit of its main adversaries, but I’m not the guy to write it.

Let’s go back to our two prisms. For the first, most voters don’t know what USAID did or why they were doing it. The White House did what they’re best at: They cherry-picked several programs designed to make the average person scratch their heads. One $5.5 million program in South Africa becomes the “War on Christmas.”

Then Trump’s new DEI comes into play. Who are the people we’re helping? Are they like us? If not, why are we helping them.

Right on cue, Democrats stand before the USAID building screaming about Congress’ role, making a process argument, and handing the Trumpists more ammunition to further discredit the feds and saying, “See, we told you they don’t care about you! They want to spend more of YOUR money on CONDOMS for Gaza!”

(Note: I know this wasn’t accurate, but that’s the well-worn Prism 3.0, they lie about everything and without fear of accountability.)

Last week, as ICE agents began arresting undocumented immigrants, they made sure to allow images of these people shackled, hand and foot, being led into the cargo hold of an Air Force cargo plane. This, too, was no accident. Seeing those men and women chained like animals to one another is intentional: Remove their humanity and its easier to remove any empathy for them.

Let me be clear: I point out these examples not to defend or attack one policy or another, but to point out that history teaches us that when a regime picks its enemies early and publicly, bad things are on the way for a lot more people. German pastor Martin Neimoller, living in Nazi Germany summed it up:

“First they came for the socialists, but I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist.

“Then they came for the trade unionists, but I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist.

“Then they came for the Jews, but I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.

“Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.”

News and Notes:

The latest episode of The Home Front Podcast is up! This week, I speak with former DOJ attorney Brendan Ballou about the firings at the FBI, the J6 pardons, and if the rule of law means anything anymore.

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