Trump is already blaming the January 29 airplane crash over the Potomac River on people of color. Asked why he believed policies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) had anything to do with the crash, Trump said: “Because I have common sense. OK. And, unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.” (In other words, most people are idiots. But the insult didn’t answer the question.)

Secretary of Defense Hegseth added his own bigoted view. “The era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department.” According to the 2023 report on military demographics, 32% of active military identify with a minority group. Where would we be without them? Think of all the people of color who serve in our military who just got trashed by their boss.

J D Vance gave his racist opinion when he said “When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means you’re not getting the best people in government.”

Trump has ordered a 30,000-person migrant facility to be built at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. “We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump said. This “facility” sounds like a concentration camp to me. And I bet every one of the people to be detained there are people of color.

We must not allow this administration to scapegoat people of color. Trump and his ilk blame every tragedy, every harm, and every problem on Black or Latino or LGBTQ people. They spew their hateful, racist rhetoric, trying to divide the American people and distract us while the billionaires are doing their best to take over our country.

MAGGIE WAGGONER

Lewisburg

Submitted by email