When Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, he was the only president in recent history who had no political or military experience before entering the White House.
Now, during his second term, he has already enacted executive orders ditching Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in favor of a “meritocracy,” while simultaneously appointing some of the most underqualified Cabinet members in recent history.
During his first day in office, Trump implemented an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Program and Preferencing,” which intends to terminate all federal DEI, DEIA and “environmental justice” offices and positions.
In another executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” the White House condemned the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for inspiring decades of “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’.”
The order argues that DEI policies “undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed Trump-appointed Pete Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and Fox News host, as defense secretary in an unusual 51-50 vote. Hegseth, who, according to his confirmation hearings, faces allegations of sexual misconduct and intoxication in the workplace, has no senior military, national security, or government experience and has the least overall military experience of any defense secretary in recent history.
He replaces retired four-star General Lloyd Austin, the first Black Secretary of Defense, who served in the military for 41 years and is the recipient of a Silver Star.
Other Cabinet picks include anti- vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spread unscientific health misinformation, to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Trump-ally Kristi Noem, who has little national security experience, to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Various national security officials and political analysts argue Trump’s picks were selected based on friendship and loyalty rather than qualifications or merit. This can arguably be considered an example of a true “identity-based spoils system,” not a merit system.
Despite Trump’s claims that regulatory hiring initiatives, like DEI programs, prevent a meritocracy, his administration, at best, demonstrates that a meritocracy cannot exist without regulation, and at worst, reveals that efforts to prioritize merit were a disingenuous ploy to allow and encourage intentional widespread discrimination.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a “meritocracy” is a system in which those moved into positions of success, power and influence based on demonstrated abilities. Despite contradictory claims, meritocracy and DEI programs are not in opposition.
DEI programs intend to ensure fair treatment during the hiring and promotion process and that qualified members of certain identities are not discounted based on identity. These programs also provide additional support for marginalized groups, like flexible schedules for parents or accommodations for people with disabilities.
Some DEI initiatives are somewhat flawed in execution as some programs fail to adequately address implicit bias, whether that be due to employers’ or employees’ unwillingness to challenge their beliefs or an insufficient budget that prevents the creation of meaningful change.
However, the Trump administration and its supporters do not commonly cite these flaws when condemning DEI programs. Instead, among these groups, the term “DEI” has almost become code for “undeserving minority,” even when a candidate is qualified, and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion have become entirely demonized.
For example, former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2024 election, was called a “DEI candidate” by some Republicans because she was a Black woman, despite Harris having decades of political experience in all three branches of government. As previously noted, Trump had no political experience when he was first elected.
On the Shawn Ryan Show podcast, Hegseth also disregarded merit when he claimed that he will fire top generals solely based on involvement in any “DEI-woke s—.”
DEI was to blame, once again, for the California wildfires and the recent D.C. plane crash, somehow.
When Trump was asked why he concluded diversity contributed to the crash, he said, “Because I have common sense.”
With an underqualified presidential administration that spews baseless anti-diversity rhetoric, it becomes obvious that anti-DEI initiatives are not intended to restore “values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement” but to create a culture in which identity-based discrimination is the norm and power is only given to those who oblige.
