The Age of Trump: A Return to Affirmative Action for Mediocrity
Trump: The Affirmative Action President
Even before President-elect Trump won the election, Corporate America started abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in response to the threat of lawsuits claiming they discriminated against white Americans. So, we’ve regressed back to the myth of meritocracy or what I like to call the white leader’s cover for cronyism. For decades, it’s been the purported North Star of American exceptionalism: work hard, play fair, follow the rule of law, and you’ll rise to the top. Yet, here we are in the twilight of the great American experiment, watching as it dissolves under the fluorescent glow of Donald Trump’s gold-plated revolving door of mediocrity.
During the final weeks of his campaign and subsequent transition, President-elect Trump assembled a cabinet that reads like the guest list of a frat party at one of his now-defunct business schools. This cadre of cronies, grifters, sycophants, neophytes, and those whose qualifications begin and end with “once praised Trump on Fox News” is no team of rivals. It’s a team of the reviled.
This band of misfits underscores a bitter irony: Trump, the self-proclaimed champion of the forgotten white working class, is bringing back affirmative action, not for the marginalized or underrepresented, but for rich, white mediocrity. Yes, friends, it’s affirmative action for the incompetent — a program tailor-made for those whose primary assets are privilege, pedigree, and a willingness never to question Trump’s actions or opinions.
The Weaponization of “Affirmative Action”
Let’s pause here to recall how conservative leaders have weaponized the term “affirmative action.” For decades, they’ve wielded it like a bludgeon, deriding anyone who wasn’t white, male, and chronically angry as an “affirmative action hire.” It didn’t matter if the hire was brilliant, qualified, or demonstrably better than their white male counterpart; the accusation stuck. The implication? That DEI was merely a buzzword masking a conspiracy to sideline the deserving (read: white, male, and stale).
This narrative conveniently ignores the origins of affirmative action. Conceived during President John F. Kennedy’s administration through Executive Order 10925, affirmative action aimed to address persistent workplace discrimination. It wasn’t a gift or a quota system but a recognition that systemic inequalities demanded systemic solutions. However, as the policy evolved, it primarily benefited one group above all others: white women.
Yes, many of those same white women, whose careers were bolstered by the very policies their husbands, brothers, and sons decry as unfair (remember #metoo), voted for a President now ushering in an era of white male restoration, an era of white men determined to reclaim their status, merit be damned.
Meritocracy: A Convenient Myth
Trump’s cabinet picks reveal the fundamental fragility of meritocracy itself. If meritocracy were real, wouldn’t we see more women, more Black and Brown people, and more first-generation college graduates in positions of power? After all, merit knows no color, no gender, no zip code. Or so we were told.
Instead, connections, wealth, and access contaminate the meritocratic system to elevate a people who would otherwise not be allowed through the front door. Trump runs a masterclass in this form of privilege. Only affirmative action for white dudes can explain the mediocrity of Trump’s proposed cabinet. Since Tim Scott, the Black Republican Senator from South Carolina and long-time Trump sycophant, now can’t seem to buy an invitation to Mar-a-Lago, we can assume those so-called “Black jobs” are no more. What about representatives of the white working-class Trump claims to champion so much? Does J.D. Vance count?
The throughline here isn’t competence; it’s comfort with a healthy dose of white supremacy. Trump surrounds himself with people who share his worldview, bolster his ego, and reflect his mediocrity. No one is there to challenge him or, heaven forbid, excel in their roles. They’re there to make him feel secure in his inadequacy.
The Cost of Mediocrity
Unfortunately, the cost of mediocrity is borne by the most vulnerable among us, many of whom voted for Trump. When unqualified leaders bungle their responsibilities, the fallout lands on the communities they are supposed to serve. Remember the last Trump cabinet. The housing crisis got worse under Ben Carson’s neglect. Betsy DeVos’s privatization schemes seriously wounded public education, which was probably the intended outcome. Oil executives prioritized profits over people, and environmental protections crumbled, promoting increased levels of pollutants in the air and water on which many of Trump’s supporters depend.
And yet, these failures are rarely framed as failures of merit. Instead, they’re excused as the growing pains of “outsider” governance or blamed on the systems designed to protect the public good. The double standard is glaring: white men fail up, and those who aren’t white get the calamitous moniker of “affirmative action hire.”
Reclaiming the Conversation
So, what do we do in the face of this backward march? First, reclaim the conversation around merit and opportunity. Meritocracy isn’t a dirty word, but it also isn’t a given just because you are white. It must be actively cultivated through policies that level the playing field through objective evaluation techniques, not incompetent management policies amplifying existing inequalities.
Second, we must call out mediocrity masquerading as leadership. Trump’s cabinet choices aren’t just an insult to the concept of governance; they’re a reminder that we can no longer afford to conflate privilege and wealth with capability and competence. The stakes are too high, and the margins for error too slim.
Finally, we must resist the temptation to see this era as an aberration. Trump didn’t create this system; he exploited it. The rot runs deep, and it will take more than one election cycle to root it out. Acknowledging the problem is the first step.
The Future of Affirmative Action and Meritocracy
Ironically, as Trump and his ilk dismantle the progress of past decades, they inadvertently prove the necessity of affirmative action with merit-based evaluation and promotion. Without intentional efforts to diversify leadership, we revert to a default state of white male dominance — a state that values who you know over what you know, where opportunity is inherited, not earned.
Let’s stop buying the myth of merit as Trump’s America currently sells it. He has made it clear: it’s not about being the best; it’s about being part of the club. And if that’s the case, perhaps it’s time to rewrite the rules of membership.
Until then, the myth of meritocracy remains just that — a myth. But if we’re going to dream, let’s dream bigger. Let’s dream of a world where merit isn’t a euphemism for privilege but a true measure of potential, realized equally by all.
