Some DEI programs aren’t worth defending

Donald Trump did not campaign on a promise to end the Pentagon’s celebration of Black History Month. Nor did the Republican air advertisements pledging to remove displays honoring nonwhite and female scientists from the National Science Foundation. And no Trump 2024 bumper sticker featured the tagline: He’ll curb the military’s recruitment of Black engineers!

Yet the administration has focused inordinate time and energy on such odd endeavors. While doing little to address persistent inflation (beyond seeking to exacerbate it through tariffs), Trump has waged total war on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) — an umbrella term for workplace policies that seek to advance the fair treatment and full economic participation of people from historically marginalized groups.

In recent weeks, Democrats have debated how they should respond. Some argue that the party should expend little political capital on defending DEI — and that Trump’s war on diversity initiatives may even have some upside.