But the left-wing DEI credos could come roaring back to public view under a rebranding, the president of American Principles Project (APP) told Fox News Digital. (iStock )
Trump swiftly moved to drop the hammer on DEI and woke initiatives upon his return to office in January, including signing an executive order on day one, titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which directed federal agencies to stamp out DEI-style programs across the federal government. The following day, Trump signed a second order aimed at "restoring merit-based opportunity," including changes for federal contracting and related compliance.
"We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer," Trump said from the dais in Congress in March, celebrating his administration achievement just a few months into the job.
Schilling said Trump turned DEI on its head upon his return to the Oval Office, pointing to his executive orders as death knells heard at the highest echelons of corporate America down to public school classrooms.
"Trump winning the election had a lot to do with this," Schilling said. "You're seeing all these CEOs of major tech companies and companies abroad coming to the White House, kissing the ring. They know who's in power and they're willing to make deals to get their projects over the finish line. And that's all great. We should use that. We should us that momentum to further cement opposition to DEI."
Silicon Valley has long been viewed and criticized as a powerful weapon used to silence conservatives — such as when social media platforms suppressed news reports on former first son Hunter Biden's laptop ahead of the 2020 election — with top tech CEOs signaling a Trump-era pivot this year as they work to ink deals to expand their businesses amid the artificial intelligence boom.
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have been the subject of heated opinions of praise and rebuke. (Adobe Stock)
Schilling warned that upcoming elections could undo the progress Trump has made in eliminating DEI policies at the federal level, pointing to the 2028 presidential election.
MELINDA GATES SAYS BUSINESSES ENDING DEI PROGRAMS ARE 'AFFECTING FAMILIES'
"They are lying in wait for the next Democrat president like Gavin Newsom, like JB Pritzker. There's really no doubt that if another Democrat gets into office, they're not just going to undo everything President Trump did to curb all the racism through DEI programs. They going to ramp it up. They gonna do it even more so than Barack Obama did and Joe Biden did. So we've got to continue to fight this," Schilling said.
The American Principles Project president continued that ending DEI and woke ideology for good requires conservative Republicans winning elections and conservative voters to talk with their feet with boycotts if a corporation leans into promoting left-wing policies, underscoring DEI is an economic issue, in addition to a cultural one.
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"If we really want to save the future, DEI must be killed, because it's not just about the culture, it's just not about racism," he said. "It's so much more. It's the economy, it's the future of America, it's our families, it is our children, and so we really need to remain eternally vigilant until it's obvious that DEI is never coming back."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dei-woke-ideology-life-support-under-trumps-return-dc-could-come-roaring-back-rebrand