Recently, former President Donald Trump attended an event hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago, where he was predictably met with hostile, loaded questions along with the ongoing attempts to paint both him and his supporters as vile racists.

One particular question of interest was about Trump saying Vice President Kamala Harris was showing the world what a “DEI hire” looks like in practice. ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott asked him if he thought Harris was “a DEI hire,” to which Trump responded, “I really don’t know” (after pointing out that Harris often shapeshifts between black and Indian heritage based on whichever one she thinks will benefit her the most).

The implication behind this question is, of course, that believing Harris is a DEI hire somehow makes one racist and is unacceptable. Some in the media have even gone so far as to claim that the phrase equates to the “N” word. However, there appears to be a substantial disconnect between this line of messaging and what we are actually told about DEI.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

For years, leftist elites have berated us about how brilliant and vital DEI is and how it needs to be implemented in every aspect of our society. Even now, it is in our schools, our workplaces, our government, and even in our churches. There are DEI workshops and DEI mandates. There are DEI coordinators and administrators whose sole responsibility is to implement and oversee DEI policies.

How, then, could the suggestion that someone has benefitted from DEI policies be considered an insult? Isn’t this the point of these programs? Isn’t that the point of the ideology itself? Earlier this year, President Joe Biden said at a campaign event, “To me, the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are literally the core strengths of America. That’s why I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history. And it starts at the top with the Vice President.”

Was that racist?

In truth, the answer is yes. It is racist for Trump to say this about Harris — but not in the way many Democrats are claiming. Calling someone a DEI hire isn’t racist. Being a DEI hire is racist.

DEI Is Inherently Racist

This has always been the problem with DEI. The idea that arbitrary qualifications should usurp merit is a philosophy that should be considered extremely insulting. DEI is nothing more than a perpetuation of the bigotry of low expectations, i.e. the idea that a person cannot possibly succeed on their own merit and must be given special access and privileges based on arbitrary identity qualifiers such as race or gender.

The logic is very simple. By attaching these filters, the implication is that this person would not have been hired or appointed otherwise, and better-qualified candidates needed to be excluded to provide this person an opportunity to succeed. If the person were truly the best for the position, there would be no need for the arbitrary qualifiers at all. They would have been chosen regardless.

This problem was clear when Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. By announcing that a black woman would be appointed before the selection process even began, all other candidates who did not fit these arbitrary criteria were excluded. This suggests, then, rightly or wrongly, that she was not the best choice overall, but she was merely the best choice among black women, because those were the only people she competed against.

Limited Competition

It is the same with Harris. By arbitrarily narrowing the field of candidates for a position by race and gender, the implicit suggestion is that her race and gender are the reason she has her current job, and not her actual qualifications. Like it or not, these are the implications underlying DEI. And logically, it is either true and Harris does have her current job because of her race and gender, or it is false, and DEI is, therefore, pointless and unnecessary. It cannot go both ways. Either we want people to be hired or appointed based on their race and/or gender, or we do not — and thus, have no need for DEI.

Racism is, quite simply, making decisions based on race. Therefore, race-based policies cannot help but be racist. They are intrinsically so, to their very essence.

There is nothing inherently wrong with diversity itself. Choosing a group of people for their merit whose strengths make up for each other’s weaknesses certainly makes for a much stronger team. That’s true diversity, and it is absolutely something to strive for.

But diversity for diversity’s sake — particularly diversity based on immutable characteristics like race and gender — inevitably leads to foregoing stronger choices in favor of meaningless box-checking. Even the lingering question of whether a person was chosen based on merit or on arbitrary qualifiers is highly problematic and should be considered insulting to someone who is otherwise qualified. Children do not need to be singled out by race in order to succeed in school. Employees do not need to be singled out by race to succeed in the workplace. Black women do not need to be singled out by race and gender to succeed in politics. To suggest otherwise is and should be insulting to the person in question.

So yes, the suggestions that Harris is a “DEI hire” should be insulting, but not because of the people who are pointing it out. It should be insulting because the very fact of being chosen based on one’s race and gender, i.e. based on DEI policy, should be considered an inherently racist practice. No one wants to be called a “DEI hire.” No one wants their merit and qualifications questioned. No one wants to be judged solely by their immutable characteristics. But that’s exactly what DEI does.

The solution, therefore, is to end DEI practices for good.

 
Leonydus is a writer, cultural/political commentator, and host of “Informed Dissent,” bringing common sense, liberty-minded perspectives to a variety of hot-button topics including race, politics, economics, psychology, and religion that dare to challenge the accepted narratives. He is also the author of Raising Victims: The Pernicious Rise of Critical Race Theory (Salem Books, 2023).