The Left’s Efforts to Overturn Trump’s DEI Directive Will Ultimately Fall Short

Ring the bells, DEI is finished!

But what will fill the void?

The Democrats are likely to attempt a revival of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

However, the left is unlikely to recover from the lethal strike that President Donald Trump delivered to this framework of government-endorsed discrimination, as pointed out by Fox News anchor Will Cain.

Perverse and harmful initiatives of this nature are now over:

• PBS dedicated $1.3 million to enable “indigenous journalists to contest existing narratives surrounding climate change.”

Cecilia Loving, the network’s recently departed senior VP of DEI, initiated “indigenous healing circles.”

According to Josh Code from The Free Press, an internal presentation in 2023 noted that “the vulnerability, intimacy, and trust built through the safe setting of circles supports our endorphin system, which thus fosters greater trust.”

• Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency uncovered $101 million in DEI grants from the US Department of Education, which included funding for “faculty workshops titled ‘Decolonizing the Curriculum.’”

Another initiative aimed to “aid students in understanding and interrogating the complex histories of oppression while recognizing areas of privilege and power both individually and collectively.”

• A “massive DEI bureaucracy” within the US military has fostered “race- and gender-based scapegoating and stereotyping,” according to Arizona State University’s Center for American Institutions.

• Ryan Polly, the DEI executive at MaineHealth hospital, organized an “antiracist prayer” in 2023.

He urged his fellow white individuals to apologize for their race and to “challenge systems designed to grant us advantages and oppress others.”

Trump’s executive order on Jan. 21 buried these discriminatory practices.

“Longstanding Federal civil rights laws protect individual Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” began Trump’s order.

“As President, I have a solemn obligation to uphold these laws for the benefit of all Americans.”

Trump further lamented that DEI policies “not only breach the text and spirit of our established Federal civil rights laws, but also erode our national unity by denying, discrediting, and undermining the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unjust, corrosive, and damaging identity-based spoils system.”

Moreover, companies like Disney, Harley-Davidson, Walmart, and others are driving nails into DEI’s coffin in the private sector.

So, what will emerge in place of DEI, or more accurately, what will outlast its decline?

“Assuming Trump’s order to eliminate DEI programs withstands legal scrutiny, the various civil rights laws enacted by Congress will remain active,” predicts Roger Pilon, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute.

“What will cease is the discrimination implicit in DEI programs — all while masquerading as anti-discrimination.”

“The demise of DEI signals a return to meritocracy,” states Horace Cooper, a co-founder of Project 21, a black-conservative network.

“Capable individuals, regardless of race, need not worry about their potential for success. A merit-based society does not equate to a return to Jim Crow. Jim Crow was fundamentally about prioritizing race over talent.”

“It was both immoral and inefficient, as it excluded individuals based solely on race, regardless of their capabilities. America’s Golden Era necessitates a strong embrace of merit. Personally, I welcome this change!”

“The near-eradication of intentional, harmful discrimination against legally protected groups gave rise to the DEI complex in the first place,” explains Heather Mac Donald from the Manhattan Institute, author of the eye-opening piece, “When Race Trumps Merit.”

“If real, harmful discrimination were such a prevalent issue, the race activists would not have sought an alternative. Genuine discrimination will remain illegal and actionable — if it can be identified.”

As DEI is consigned to its grave, the civil rights protections secured by the Freedom Riders, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other heroes of Black History Month will continue to safeguard real victims of discrimination, whenever they arise.

In the meantime, Americans can bid a hearty “Good riddance!” to DEI’s obsession with perpetuating the nation’s racial wounds, preventing any from healing.

Deroy Murdock is a contributor to Fox News based in Manhattan.