The demise of so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been swift in the second Trump era. Since Donald Trump was reelected, major companies have publicly ended their DEI initiatives, while the Trump administration has moved to do the same in federal government agencies. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also banned DEI in state agencies, even as some universities try to skirt the new rules. Even liberal Hollywood is largely ditching the DEI model, with Disney, Paramount, Amazon, and Warner Brothers "quietly" rolling back their DEI commitments, according to reports.
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld believes these studios and companies are not all ditching DEI willfully. As he says on a recent edition of Gutfeld!, "Trump is giving the companies the excuse to do what they always wanted to do, and now they can go big, mean, orange guy is doing it...it's out of my hands, I've got to fire you guys because it's the government that's gonna come after us."
Comedian and Fox News contributor Tom Shillue agrees with Gutfeld. "They're blaming this on Trump...all the quotes from the studios said we're afraid of the repercussions from the Trump administration," says Shillue. "(The administration) is not bullying them at all, the audience is."
"And if they want to use the bullying analogy, 20 years ago DEI showed up on the playground and started bullying everybody."
The phrase "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" may be passé, but the letters DEI don't have to be. Larry Bell, University of Houston professor, is calling for a "New DEI" of Determination, Exceptionalism, Innovation. Bell argues determination rewards setting and working toward strong goals, exceptionalism demands individual strength of character, and innovation rewards those who pursue new ideas and take risks. He notes all are based on the idea of merit and equal opportunity, which are the opposite of "equity."
As Bell writes, "there's nothing in America's hard-fought founding principles guaranteeing equal success for everyone, because nothing in life is guaranteed."