The Memo: Trump goes full bore against DEI
by Niall Stanage - 01/24/25 6:00 AM ET
President Trump is taking full aim at diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, apparently making the calculation that the peak for such initiatives has passed and that they are viewed with growing skepticism by the public.
There is little doubt the Trump base is opposed to DEI, given his voters are customarily set against anything that has a whiff of cultural liberalism or “wokeness.”
But there is a bigger question about whether the extent of Trump’s push against such measures will draw any kind of pushback.
Some polling shows broader support for DEI than might be anticipated for a topic that has become increasingly tugged into political warfare.
Trump reiterated his views on DEI measures during a speech, delivered virtually, to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
“My administration has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense — and these are policies that were absolute nonsense — throughout the government and the private sector,” Trump said.
The actions have come thick and fast in the first few days of his second administration.
Trump issued a sweeping executive order earlier this week contending “illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity.”
December 9, 2024
The Beginning of the End of DEI – In the Private Sector and Our Universities
By Janet Levy
Ferraris are priced between $250,000 and $600,000, but it’s not enough to have the money to buy these pricey Italian sports cars. The company’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter demands that buyers and their families pass “social status” background checks to “ensure they fit the mold of the brand and its desired image.”
Talk about cultivating “inclusivity!”
In a similar charade of ‘woke’ virtue signaling, luxury car maker Jaguar unleashed a futuristic ad in a pinkish palette featuring men posing as women. There are no cars in it, so it's no surprise that it landed like a lead balloon and joined the pantheon of duds like the Bud Light ad featuring trans activist Dylan Mulvaney in a bubble bath.
The Bud Light ad sparked a consumer backlash on social media, including calls for boycotting the beer brand.
In Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America, Charles Gasparino called the Bud Light fiasco the “desecration of a great American brand.” The book—which opens with an account of an incredibly farcical discussion at Goldman Sachs over whether ordering Chick-fil-A sandwiches is sufficiently woke—exposes many such woke/DEI debacles and the brand destruction they wreaked.
Fortunately, the efforts of people like Gasparino (a seasoned business reporter who knows what makes companies succeed or fail) and anti-DEI campaigner Robby Starbuck are paying off. Moreover, the resounding victory of President-elect Donald Trump—who made a campaign pledge to dismantle “divisive,” “un-American” DEI programs—has catalyzed a corporate retreat from leftist “wokeness.”
After Starbuck told Walmart he was investigating their DEI practices, the retail chain – America’s largest private sector employer, with over 4,600 units in the U.S. – announced plans to end its DEI initiatives. It has agreed to drop the term ‘DEI’ and instead focus on “Belonging for All.” Not only that, it will stop financing events aimed at influencing children sexually; scrap the Corporate Equality Index, a benchmark created by the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) to monitor LGBTQ+ policies; remove gender-neutral terms such as Latinx from documents; end a program incentivizing suppliers who hire LGBTQ+, racial minorities, and women; discontinue racial equity training; and stop funding the Center for Racial Equity. Walmart will no longer sell products such as chest binders marketed, among others, to “transitioning” children.
Many other major companies have followed suit. Molson Coors, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, and Toyota are dumping the Corporate Equality Index. John Deere will no longer participate in “cultural awareness” parades, etc., and instead focus on professional development and recruitment of talent. Toyota will “refocus its DEI programs” and stop sponsoring LGBTQ+ events; its community activities will now align with “STEM education and workforce readiness.” Tractor Supply Co., an animal feed and farm equipment retailer, is abandoning all DEI goals and programs and will no longer sponsor pride events.
Gasparino and Starbuck have succeeded because they have relentlessly criticized, mocked, and exposed the hypocrisy of companies embracing DEI instead of focusing on efficiently delivering goods and services and bringing profits to shareholders. Starbuck is effective because he has a huge social media audience, and Elon Musk has reshared many of his posts on X.
“No industry should feel safe. As we head into Christmas, I will likely turn my sights to retailers who depend on the majority of Americans who just elected Trump with the popular vote,” says Starbuck, who is committed to preserving traditional American culture. His current efforts are trained on Target and Amazon, which he says are “acting crazy out there with wokeness.” Target sells items such as a girl’s swimsuit with “extra crotch coverage” for male genitalia and “Satanist-inspired” clothing. At the same time, Amazon banned Starbuck’s documentary War on Children, which exposes the political agenda to push gender transitioning.
The perfidy of DEI is that, in the name of promoting equality, it is a program of reverse racism, dividing people, mandating equal outcomes instead of equal opportunity, and jettisoning the pursuit of excellence that made America great. Trump is focused on expunging DEI from both the private sector, where it was gradually taking firm root, and the universities, hotbeds that indoctrinate the young and eventually feed corporations and government with executives and bureaucrats steeped in leftist-woke ideology.
On the corporate front, he is expected to sign an executive order requiring companies conducting business with the federal government to end their DEI programs. In higher education, he has asked Christopher Rufo, a DEI critic and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, to devise a plan to reduce federal funding for universities promoting such programs.
 |
A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states
2:10 PM CDT April 24, 2024
Tennessee became the latest state to act this week as the Governor Lee signed a law prohibiting banks from considering a customer's participation in DEI training.
A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it.
Tennessee became the latest when the Republican governor this week signed legislation that would prohibit banks and other financial institutions from considering a customer's participation — or lack thereof — in “diversity, equity and inclusion training” or “social justice programming.”
That came shortly after the Democratic governor in Kansas allowed legislation to become law without her signature that will prohibit statements about diversity, equity or inclusion from being used in decisions about student admissions, financial aid or employment at higher education institutions.
Last week, Iowa's Republican-led Legislature also gave final approval to a budget bill that would ban all DEI offices and initiatives in higher education that aren't necessary to comply with accreditation or federal law. The measure expands upon a directive last year from the Iowa Board of Regents to eliminate DEI staff positions.
Republican lawmakers in about two dozen states have filed bills seeking to restrict DEI initiatives this year. They are countered by Democrats who have sponsored supportive DEI measures in about 20 states. Altogether, lawmakers have proposed about 150 bills this year that would either restrict or promote DEI efforts, according to an Associated Press analysis using the legislation-tracking software Plural.
WHAT'S AT ISSUE?
Higher education institutions and many businesses have long devoted resources to improving diversity and inclusivity.
More recently, conservative groups began raising concerns that DEI initiatives are promoting an agenda that elevates racial or gender identity over individual merit. Since 2022, about half a dozen conservative or libertarian organizations have offered model measures to state lawmakers to eliminate DEI offices or prohibit the use of DEI criteria in training programs or employment, academic and financial decisions.
Nissan to curb DEI policies after ‘productive conversations’ with anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck
By Taylor Herzlich
Published Dec. 19, 2024, 10:40 a.m. ET
Nissan Motor will be rolling back its diversity initiatives after speaking with conservative activist Robby Starbuck – who previously led successful boycotts against major companies like Walmart and Tractor Supply forcing them to cut their DEI programs.
The Japan-based automaker’s Americas unit will stop funding Pride events and cancel its hiring and promotion quotas for diverse applicants, according to Starbuck.
Nissan’s staff training will focus on its business agenda, eradicating DEI and LGBTQ training requirements, according to Starbuck and an apparent letter sent to staffers Wednesday by outgoing Nissan Americas chair Jeremie Papin, as seen in the video.
The company will also end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which tracks employers’ commitment to LGBTQ-equality policies.
Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“As many of y’all know, I’m a Tennessean, so this one makes me particularly proud because Nissan is one of our biggest employers,” Starbuck said in a video posted to X late Wednesday, “and it’s my goal for every Tennessean to go to work without being bombarded with wokeness.”
A few weeks ago, Starbuck told Nissan he was planning to speak about their company to his 730,000 loyal “anti-woke” followers on X – and instead the company agreed to “productive conversations” and committed to some key changes, he said in the post.
McDonald's is ending some DEI programs
Updated Jan 7, 2025 Emily Peck, Nathan Bomey
McDonald's on Monday said it is rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Why it matters: Backlash against corporate DEI efforts appears to be intensifying ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration.
- The president-elect has been an outspoken opponent of corporate diversity efforts.
Where it stands: In a letter to franchise owners, suppliers and current employees, McDonald's proclaimed its commitment to diversity and inclusion but said it would modify some practices after conducting a "civil rights audit."
- The fast food company cited the Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that ended affirmative action in universities, and the shifting legal landscape.
Zoom in: The company said it would end "aspirational representation goals." That could include specific hiring targets that have come up for criticism in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
- It will pause "external surveys," which could include participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.
Between the lines: The announcement came just days after anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck first reached out to the fast food giant, he said in a post on X.
John Deere drops diversity initiatives, pledges to no longer join 'social or cultural awareness parades'
Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere announced this week it is scaling back a series of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said it would be eliminating or changing multiple internal policies and initiatives, adding that “our customers’ trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere.”
“We will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events,” the statement read.
John Deere also announced that it would be “auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages,” and would be “reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.”
DEI in the workplace:Efforts may be under attack, but many companies aren't retreating from commitments
Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Life Activists Ahead of March for Life Today
The protesters were convicted for blocking the entrances of abortion clinics
 People attend the annual March for Life rally on the National Mall in Washington on Jan. 19, 2024 |
President Donald Trump has pardoned 23 pro-life demonstrators who were convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly referred to as the FACE Act.
“Twenty-three people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump told reporters while signing the series of pardons on Jan. 23.
“Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”
Trump said it was “ridiculous” that some of the 23 protesters were in prison.
“There is no question these prosecutions were political,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement. “Even ex-FBI director Chris Wray admits the overwhelming majority of abortion-related threats and violence since Dobbs is directed at pro-life Americans—not done by them. We look forward to the end of Biden’s anti-life discrimination under Attorney General Pam Bondi.”
The pardons come one day before a swarm of pro-life advocates is expected to converge on Washington for the 52nd annual March for Life.
