WASHINGTON: Former president Donald Trump has pledged to combat “anti-white sentiment” in the United States.
Certain prominent supporters of the former president, now a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, argued that policies designed to support people of color in educational settings, workplaces, and charitable organizations should be restructured to also safeguard the rights of white people.
“I believe there is a clear anti-white sentiment prevalent in this nation,” Trump asserted in an interview with Time published on Tuesday. “Addressing it wouldn’t be overly difficult, in my opinion. However, I find the current laws to be highly unjust.”
While Trump did not cite specific examples of anti-white bias or propose policy changes in the interview, his campaign website lays out several plans, and some of his allies are offering detailed recommendations in the event Trump secures another term in office.
One proposal would overturn President Biden’s executive order mandating federal agencies to evaluate whether underserved communities, including ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people, and rural populations, have adequate access to government programs.
At campaign events, Trump promises to defund institutions teaching concepts like ethnic studies, a field that examines systemic oppression and racism – though rarely incorporated into public school curricula.
One campaign adviser, Lynne Patton, told conservative commentator Laura Loomer in a recent interview that a second Trump administration would withhold federal funding from any entities implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives, widely known as DEI.
Human rights advocates decry any efforts to undermine initiatives aimed at rectifying historical injustices. They argue that these programs exist to address centuries of documented discrimination.
“There’s always been an ability to stoke this kind of anxiety and frustration among many whites whenever efforts to level the playing field for non-whites have been successful in any way,” said Tricia Rose, director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism in the US at Brown University.
Another Trump ally, Gene Hamilton, suggested that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division should ensure that corporate diversity programs do not discriminate against whites.
Gene Hamilton, a close ally of Donald Trump, emphasized to Reuters the importance of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in ensuring that workplace diversity programs are not discriminatory.
Hamilton suggested that the department could draw on its authority, in part, from Section VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Enacted during the height of the civil rights movement, this legislation prohibits employment decisions based on “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
As a former Justice Department official under the Trump administration, Hamilton argued that the Act should safeguard the rights of all individuals, including white people. For example, he contended that programs designed to enhance diversity by increasing the representation of people of color should not unfairly exclude other applicants.
This perspective represents a departure from the traditional role of the Civil Rights Division, which historically focused on protecting marginalized communities. In recent years, the division has spearheaded investigations into allegations of racism within police departments and taken legal action against companies accused of discriminating against immigrants.
Hamilton, who outlined his views in a policy publication by Project 2025, a consortium of think tanks aligned with Trump, emphasized that any programs or policies denying opportunities based solely on race or sex violate fundamental principles that have long united the country.
