It is time that we stopped treating Donald Trump’s assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
(DEI) as a philosophical or cultural dispute and call it out for what it is, Racism.
Donald Trump has a well-documented history of racism that exceeds that of Robert Shelton, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1961 to 1987.[i]
In 1963, Trump, his father and their real estate company were sued by the United States Justice Department for discriminating and refusing to rent apartments to African American applicants. The litigation was ultimately resolved by the Trumps entering a consent decree.[ii] In 1989 Trump spent $85,000 to take out full-page advertisements in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the New York Post and Newsday in which he called for the death penalty in the case of the Central Park five a group of teenagers accused of assaulting and raping a female jogger in Central Park.[iii] Following their exoneration and a multimillion dollar settlement of their wrongful convictions Trump refused to apologize for the advertisements and continued to maintain his belief in their guilt.[iv] In 2011 and 2012 Trump falsely spread the claim that President Obama was not born in the United States and was ineligible to be president. Even after President Obama presented documentary proof that he was a citizen, Trump refused to apologize for the scurrilous claim.[v]
Even before Trump took office, white supremacists were hailing his election.[vi] Once in office, it did not take Trump long to show his true feelings. On August 12, 2017 a counter demonstrator was killed at a “Unite the Right rally” and nineteen others were injured after a rally supporter drove his car into the group of demonstrators. On August 15, asked to condemn this act, Trump said there were “very fine people” among both the white supremacists counter protesters.[vii] Trump would repeatedly reaffirm and defend his comment during his first term.[viii]
Following his defeat in 2020, Trump publicly hosted White Nationalist, Nick Fuentes leader of the Proud Boys, at Mar A Lago.[ix]
Since returning to office Trump has spent his time working with Elon Musk and his wrecking crew dismantling every program that provides assistance, health services and benefits to people of color, both foreign and domestic. In allowing Musk to abolish and dismantle USAaid programs to impoverished countries, auditors have found “heightened hunger and desperation”[x] in African countries, South Sudan and Senegal. Even the smallest, poorest landlocked African country was not spared from Trumps tariffs. Lesotho, which exports denim to the United States had a 50% tariff imposed on Madagascar, another poor African country, had a 47% tariff imposed on it. Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Libya, and Mauritius had 3% tariffs imposed on them. Trump imposed these tariffs “after ending billions of dollars in aid, destroying these countries healthcare relief systems and disaster relief aids.”[xi]
Most recently the Department of Homeland Security revoked temporary status for over half a million Cubans, Haitians Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans putting them in line for deportation.[xii]
Upon taking office, Trump replaced highly regarded Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense and he fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown.[xiii] Both career officers are African American. Lest there be any doubt that these decisions were racially motivated Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, questioned whether Gen. Brown was named Chairman of the Joint Chiefs because of his race.[xiv] it was a particularly egregious criticism coming from an unqualified, incompetent drunk.[xv] Republican senators confirmed Hegseth upon his promise to stop drinking if he was confirmed.[xvi] This may be the lowest bar in confirmation hearing history.
While Trump, Musk and his appointees deport or prepare to deport Haitians and other people of color, by eliminating their protected status, they are also preparing to grant white Afrikaners from South Africa refugee status under a program called “Mission South Africa.”[xvii] One can only surmise that Trump, Stephen Miller, Musk and other members of his Klan have devised their very own Great Replacement Theory in which white immigrants would replace immigrants of color . I am grateful that I lived to see the end of the Jim Crow Era and the death of Robert Shelton. I never expected to see Shelton’s resurrection in Donald Trump or the beginning of the Donald Crow Er
[i] “Robert Shelton, 73, Leader of Big Klan Faction,” New York Times, March 20, 2003.
[ii]“’No Vacancies For Blacks;’ How Donald Trump Got his Start and Was First Accused of Bias,” by Jonathan Mahler and Steve Eder, New York Times, August 27, 2016.
[iii] “Angered by Attack, Trump, Trump Urges Return Of the Death Penalty,” by Lisa Foderoro, New York Times, May 1, 1989.
[iv] “Trump Will Not Apologize for Calling for Death Penalty Over Central Park Five,” by Jan Ransom, New York Times, June 18, 2019.
[v] “Donald Trump Clung to ‘Birther’ Lie for Years, and Still Isn’t Apologetic,” by Michael Barbaro, New York Times, September 16, 2016.
[vi] “’Hail Trump,’ White nationalists Salute the President-Elect, “by Daniel Lambroso and Yoni Applebaum, The Atlantic, November 21, 20216.
[vii] “What to Know About the Violent Charlottesville Protests and Anniversary Rallies, “by Meghan Kneally, ABC News, August 8, 2018.
[viii] “Trump Defends ‘Very Fine People’ Comments, Calls Robert E. Lee ‘A Great General,’” by Jordyn Phelps, ABC News, April 26, 2019.
[ix] “Trump’s Latest Dinner Guest, Nick Fuentes, White Supremacist” by Maggie Haberman and Alan Feuer, New York Times, November 25, 2022
[x] “Harsh Findings on Trump’s Aid Freeze Kept Secret by USAID Watchdog,” by Lisa Rein and Josh Hudson, Washington Post, February 27, 2025.
[xi] “When Huge Trump Tariffs Hit Small African Economies,” by Patricia Cohen, New York Times April 20, 2025.
[xii]“Homeland Security Revokes Temporary Status for 532,000 Cubans Haitians Nicaraguans and Venezuelans,” by Gisela Soloman, Associated Press, March 21, 2025.
[xiii]“Trump Fires Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Two Other Military Officers,” by Tara Copp and Lolita Baldor, Associated Press February 21, 2025.
[xiv] “Trump Fires Black Joint Chiefs Chair Hegseth Accused of Promoting Diversity,” The Guardian, February 21, 2025.
[xv] “Hegseth Routinely Passed Out From Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says,” by Lindsay Wise and Jack Gillum, Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2025.
[xvi] “Hegseth Promises to Stop Drinking If Confirmed GOP Senators Say,” by Oren Oppenheim, Katherine Faulders, Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh and Lalee Ibssa , ABC News, December 4, 2024
[xvii] “’Mission South Africa’: how Trump is offering white Afrikaners Refugee Status,” by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamid Aleaziz, New York Times, March 30, 2025.