Trump, especially Trump, and his entire cabinet are a master class in race over merit. The whole group is a breathtaking assemblage of ignorance, incompetence, sycophancy, hypocrisy and cruelty.
Excellent article, thank you. I first became aware of my white bias in a Bible study (!) where we read Latasha Morrison’s “Be the Bridge” circa 2020. I was among those completely oblivious to “white culture” . I’ve learned tons since then but most especially the need to learn from those who know. I appreciate The Preamble deferring to experts as in this case. Thank you for the term “default Americans” — I’ll use this in conversation going forward.
Thank you for the full picture here, Marie! Your piece reminded me of what I wrote back in January about the Trump administration exploiting the Potomac crash while bodies were still being recovered. Before any investigation could begin, they made sweeping claims about DEI being to blame. So I decided to check in with the investigation 9 months later to see where we are at. It turns out there was a systemic cause, but it’s a cause the administration needs to take responsibility for, not the DEI boogeyman they use to evade accountability.
To remind everyone: on January 29, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Airport, killing all 67 people aboard. Less than 24 hours later, Trump stood at a press conference with his newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and declared that diversity initiatives at the FAA were partly to blame. When asked how he could possibly know this, he said: “Because I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.” Hegseth announced “the era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department.” Vice President Vance claimed “many hundreds of people” had been turned away from air traffic controller jobs “because of the color of their skin.”
This was Hegseth, the man you described, forced out of veterans’ organizations amid allegations of financial misconduct and sexual abuse, whose own mother wrote that he “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego.” He was confirmed only through a tie-breaking vote after what senators privately called “a feral intimidation campaign.” Yet there he stood, lecturing America about “merit” while families waited for bodies to be recovered.
Months later, the National Transportation Safety Board shared some findings in its investigation, and they tell a completely different story. Most critically, a single air traffic controller was handling both helicopter and commercial traffic, jobs normally done by two people, due to staffing issues.
Between 2011 and 2024, there was at least one close call per month between commercial planes and helicopters at Reagan Airport. The NTSB called it “not an isolated incident, but a symptom of broader failures in our aviation safety system.” One finding was conspicuously absent: any connection whatsoever to diversity hiring. The helicopter crew were highly experienced pilots who had flown this exact route before at night. The problem was the fact that one person was doing two jobs.
But in MAGA logic, there probably was someone with dark skin somewhere near the controls of some part of the system, so their thesis about DEI being to blame can’t really be refuted in their eyes.
So what has Trump done to address the understaffing problem that the investigation identified as a key factor? While touting that he hit his goal of hiring 2,000 air traffic controllers in 2025, he simultaneously gutted the support infrastructure those controllers depend on. In February, just weeks after the crash, his administration fired 200-400 FAA probationary employees including maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, environmental protection specialists, and aviation safety assistants. Over 2,700 additional FAA employees have taken buyout offers to leave the agency, with the acting FAA administrator warning employees “we will be leaner in a year, in two years” and that layoffs are coming. Between 20-30% of non-exempt FAA staff are expected to leave. Senators from both parties raised alarms that hiring controllers means nothing without the support staff who maintain radar systems and assist with aviation safety. As Senator Patty Murray said, “You can have all air traffic controllers there, but if they don’t have the support staff, we can’t know that they’re doing the job.” The FAA remains 3,500 controllers short of target levels, and over 90% of U.S. air traffic control facilities operate below recommended staffing. Trump created a public relations win by hiring controllers while making the actual systemic problem worse by gutting support staff, the exact kind of understaffing that contributed to one controller doing two jobs the night of the crash.
If the investigation had found that an inexperienced person of color had been present in any role associated with this tragedy, Trump and Hegseth would have made it headline news. They would have overhauled policy immediately, held congressional hearings, and used it as proof that DEI kills. But the investigation found the real culprit was inadequate staffing, budget cuts, and systemic failures that accumulated across multiple administrations including Trump’s first term. So now they’re doing the opposite of solving the problem and quietly letting us forget why 67 innocent people died.
This is exactly the pattern you identified. When General Charles Q. Brown met every qualification, Hegseth questioned his merit. When Brown’s white replacement didn’t meet legal requirements, Trump waived them. When 67 people died in a crash, Trump’s first instinct was to blame diversity before any facts emerged.
White people’s failures are individual mistakes within broken systems. People of color’s mere presence triggers suspicion, and the president literally says that suspicion is common sense.
College drop out Kirk saying that Princeton and Harvard graduate Michelle Obama lacks brain processing power actually makes my blood boil. White men have been allowed to be mediocre AND in positions of power for so long, they can't handle people of color being objectively more qualified than they are. This whole war against DEI is merely their insecurity and racism on full display.
I'm so angry that this is where we are. I don't actually believe that Hegseth made any assumptions about qualifications of a black man. I believe that's the excuse he's providing to those who need to justify firing a highly qualified black man. I believe that Hegseth is telling us exactly when "again" is in MAGA - it's when people of color and women did not have rights. Because when women and people of color don't have rights, then unqualified white men can be in power without competition.
Thanks for your comment. As a Black woman, I am very intentional about not overstating the severity of issues. So, I wouldn’t personally go as far as broadly saying we’re getting back to the point “when women and people of color don’t have rights,” but I can see why you think that.
I'm not suggesting we're there either. Yet. I'm saying that's the vision. They don't necessarily see women and people of color as inferior. They envision a time when they weren't allowed to be equal.
"This is the difference between seeing a Black pilot and wondering, “How did he make it through? What strings were pulled to achieve that outcome?” and seeing only white pilots and wondering, “Where are all the people of other races who could be pilots but aren’t? What’s standing in their way?”"
Not sure I'll word this correctly, but ultimately, I think it comes down to this -- if you believe in your heart of hearts that human beings are human beings, regardless of race/gender, and have the capacity and potential to reach the same heights and accomplishments, then you are going to think through the latter viewpoint. AKA "where are all the people of other races, and why aren't they here? What's standing in their way?" Versus if you really believe, in your heart of hearts, that one race (white people) are inexplicably superior based on their skin color alone, you are always going to be drawn to the first viewpoint ("How did that Black pilot make it through and get this job?").
For me, it's indicative of the deep wound of racism that still exists in this country today, for some subconsciously, for some very consciously. And yet we're poised to see the end of the voting rights act and more racial gerrymandering, because these people screaming about DEI are the same ones who believe, whether genuinely or disingenuously, that we are in a post-racism world.
It's like looking at the photos of the Democratic Congresspeople and their staff vs. the Republicans and their staff? Why do we see significant diversity in the Democratic staff and not the Republicans? What is the barrier?
Beautiful piece, thank you. I work in commercial real estate - specifically retail real estate. For 20 years I have attended our industry's trade show in Vegas with tens of thousands of attendees. 20 years later, it is still a sea of white men. Did I mention that I work in retail? Our customers are predominantly women. When I meet a new person in the industry who is a woman and/or a person of color, I feel a little hope...my mind never goes to 'oh they must be a DEI hire'. That "context" as the Kirk followers like to try and argue, is still racism.
Very well written article Marie. As we have seen from events unfolding the last month or so, our nations leaders have a white supremacist ideology at the center of their “merit” rationale. Marie correctly points out that when you see white people as the default Americans, every one else is met with at least some level of suspicion while white folks get the benefit of the doubt. I think many folks, uneducated about the language of white supremacy have been pulled into its ideas without understanding that as the ultimate goal. Again, giving the leaders broad benefit of the doubt (Charlie Kirk) while lending deep suspicion to anyone who points out the ideology behind his talking points.
We are living through a time when many people are either rejecting what Americas ideals are or desiring to live in some fantasy of the past.
But the past has this *weird* way of quickly showing us why we abandoned its failed methods😂 (cough cough: blanket tariffs)
Apparently short memories are in vogue, but I’m glad we have articles like this to put on easy-to-read display why believing white Americans are the default, is both racist and unhelpful to our nation that claims to want to be a rich tapestry of people.
Thanks, Marie! This was a great article that left me thinking. I had a conversation with my Gran yesterday about race and what she experienced as a white kid in various locations across the US. She moved a lot as a young child because her father was stationed different places during WWII. She lived for a bit in a sundown town, but also experienced larger cities where she remembered seeing the first no blacks served here signs. She was always very unhappy as a kid with the explanations the adults in her life gave her as to why this was true. I think the biggest takeaway for me is her childhood might not have been just yesterday, but segregation ended after my Mom was born. Thinking about how far we've come but also how recently that was as well. It is disconcerting to see Hegseth choosing people who are less qualified simply because they are white. He makes everything look like a choice made on race and politics when he does this (to me).
Amber, thanks for sharing. I love hearing when people pass down wisdom and take the time for those intergenerational conversations. I’m so glad you had that with your Gran — and that you’re drawing connections between what she saw then and what’s happening now.
One thing the quotes from Hegseth and Kirk have in common is the mention of "quotas." I haven't seen this be a part of the counter-conversation. At least as long as I've been in a position to hire people (25+ years), I've never encountered a hiring "quota." All I've ever been asked to hire is someone qualified for the job. Something I'd love to understand is whether quotas actually are or have ever been a thing. Are/were there companies out there saying, "We need our staff to be 60% white, 2o% black, 10% Latino, and 7% Asian, and 3% Other. Be sure you're hiring accordingly."? (I completely made up thise numbers and have no idea if they're rational. Please look at my point, not my "stats." ☺️) If that is not something that is happening, IMO, that argument needs to be made a lot louder and more frequently. Because the only reason someone can get away with arguing that DEI or AA hiring allows under-qualified minorities to get jobs is if quotas are part of the mix. My understanding has always been that DEI/AA simply means you can't let race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation affect your hiring decision. At all. And if that's the case, then the entire "They only got hired because they're Black" argument completely crumbles, which means we need to be yelling, "There's are no quotas!" a lot more loudly.
That’s a great question. I’d agree that strict racial quotas have been rare. More often, DEI policies have focused on ensuring that people of color are represented in the pool of candidates being considered. Critics often interpret that policy as a slippery slope that leads to giving those candidates preferential treatment in pursuit of diversity goals — and they sometimes assume that people of color are being hired or promoted mainly to achieve “firsts.” So when people like Hegseth or Kirk have talked about “quotas,” I believe they’re usually referring to what they claim are unspoken, unofficial quotas.
Great article! This "default American" and really, "default human" are why White people will say, "my children are too young to learn about racism". Our belief that White children should be allowed to remain "innocent" to the harsh realities faced by other races stems from this "default human" thought process. Either all children should remain innocent or no children should remain innocent to the realities of racism.
I will die on the hill that the only people getting jobs because of their race and gender are White men. As a woman, I've always had to prove myself to be better than the men around me. And Black women have to work 10 times as hard to be thought half as capable. It's infuriating!
Thanks for your comment. Yes, those are two perfect examples of the default American idea — not thinking white children should have to know about racism, and prejudice and discrimination in hiring.
Trump, especially Trump, and his entire cabinet are a master class in race over merit. The whole group is a breathtaking assemblage of ignorance, incompetence, sycophancy, hypocrisy and cruelty.
Excellent article, thank you. I first became aware of my white bias in a Bible study (!) where we read Latasha Morrison’s “Be the Bridge” circa 2020. I was among those completely oblivious to “white culture” . I’ve learned tons since then but most especially the need to learn from those who know. I appreciate The Preamble deferring to experts as in this case. Thank you for the term “default Americans” — I’ll use this in conversation going forward.
Cathy, I appreciate your comment. Thanks for sharing about your journey — and how it all started with a great Bible study.
Thank you for the full picture here, Marie! Your piece reminded me of what I wrote back in January about the Trump administration exploiting the Potomac crash while bodies were still being recovered. Before any investigation could begin, they made sweeping claims about DEI being to blame. So I decided to check in with the investigation 9 months later to see where we are at. It turns out there was a systemic cause, but it’s a cause the administration needs to take responsibility for, not the DEI boogeyman they use to evade accountability.
To remind everyone: on January 29, an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Airport, killing all 67 people aboard. Less than 24 hours later, Trump stood at a press conference with his newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and declared that diversity initiatives at the FAA were partly to blame. When asked how he could possibly know this, he said: “Because I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.” Hegseth announced “the era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department.” Vice President Vance claimed “many hundreds of people” had been turned away from air traffic controller jobs “because of the color of their skin.”
This was Hegseth, the man you described, forced out of veterans’ organizations amid allegations of financial misconduct and sexual abuse, whose own mother wrote that he “belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego.” He was confirmed only through a tie-breaking vote after what senators privately called “a feral intimidation campaign.” Yet there he stood, lecturing America about “merit” while families waited for bodies to be recovered.
Months later, the National Transportation Safety Board shared some findings in its investigation, and they tell a completely different story. Most critically, a single air traffic controller was handling both helicopter and commercial traffic, jobs normally done by two people, due to staffing issues.
Between 2011 and 2024, there was at least one close call per month between commercial planes and helicopters at Reagan Airport. The NTSB called it “not an isolated incident, but a symptom of broader failures in our aviation safety system.” One finding was conspicuously absent: any connection whatsoever to diversity hiring. The helicopter crew were highly experienced pilots who had flown this exact route before at night. The problem was the fact that one person was doing two jobs.
But in MAGA logic, there probably was someone with dark skin somewhere near the controls of some part of the system, so their thesis about DEI being to blame can’t really be refuted in their eyes.
So what has Trump done to address the understaffing problem that the investigation identified as a key factor? While touting that he hit his goal of hiring 2,000 air traffic controllers in 2025, he simultaneously gutted the support infrastructure those controllers depend on. In February, just weeks after the crash, his administration fired 200-400 FAA probationary employees including maintenance mechanics, aeronautical information specialists, environmental protection specialists, and aviation safety assistants. Over 2,700 additional FAA employees have taken buyout offers to leave the agency, with the acting FAA administrator warning employees “we will be leaner in a year, in two years” and that layoffs are coming. Between 20-30% of non-exempt FAA staff are expected to leave. Senators from both parties raised alarms that hiring controllers means nothing without the support staff who maintain radar systems and assist with aviation safety. As Senator Patty Murray said, “You can have all air traffic controllers there, but if they don’t have the support staff, we can’t know that they’re doing the job.” The FAA remains 3,500 controllers short of target levels, and over 90% of U.S. air traffic control facilities operate below recommended staffing. Trump created a public relations win by hiring controllers while making the actual systemic problem worse by gutting support staff, the exact kind of understaffing that contributed to one controller doing two jobs the night of the crash.
If the investigation had found that an inexperienced person of color had been present in any role associated with this tragedy, Trump and Hegseth would have made it headline news. They would have overhauled policy immediately, held congressional hearings, and used it as proof that DEI kills. But the investigation found the real culprit was inadequate staffing, budget cuts, and systemic failures that accumulated across multiple administrations including Trump’s first term. So now they’re doing the opposite of solving the problem and quietly letting us forget why 67 innocent people died.
This is exactly the pattern you identified. When General Charles Q. Brown met every qualification, Hegseth questioned his merit. When Brown’s white replacement didn’t meet legal requirements, Trump waived them. When 67 people died in a crash, Trump’s first instinct was to blame diversity before any facts emerged.
White people’s failures are individual mistakes within broken systems. People of color’s mere presence triggers suspicion, and the president literally says that suspicion is common sense.
College drop out Kirk saying that Princeton and Harvard graduate Michelle Obama lacks brain processing power actually makes my blood boil. White men have been allowed to be mediocre AND in positions of power for so long, they can't handle people of color being objectively more qualified than they are. This whole war against DEI is merely their insecurity and racism on full display.
Your first sentence perfectly captures my feelings as well. Thanks for your comment.
I'm so angry that this is where we are. I don't actually believe that Hegseth made any assumptions about qualifications of a black man. I believe that's the excuse he's providing to those who need to justify firing a highly qualified black man. I believe that Hegseth is telling us exactly when "again" is in MAGA - it's when people of color and women did not have rights. Because when women and people of color don't have rights, then unqualified white men can be in power without competition.
Thanks for your comment. As a Black woman, I am very intentional about not overstating the severity of issues. So, I wouldn’t personally go as far as broadly saying we’re getting back to the point “when women and people of color don’t have rights,” but I can see why you think that.
I'm not suggesting we're there either. Yet. I'm saying that's the vision. They don't necessarily see women and people of color as inferior. They envision a time when they weren't allowed to be equal.
Excellent piece! Should be mandatory reading for every American (and there should be a test on it for the administration).
Thank you.
Marie, once again, another excellent article!
Nancy, thanks for your support!
Fantastic article.
"This is the difference between seeing a Black pilot and wondering, “How did he make it through? What strings were pulled to achieve that outcome?” and seeing only white pilots and wondering, “Where are all the people of other races who could be pilots but aren’t? What’s standing in their way?”"
Not sure I'll word this correctly, but ultimately, I think it comes down to this -- if you believe in your heart of hearts that human beings are human beings, regardless of race/gender, and have the capacity and potential to reach the same heights and accomplishments, then you are going to think through the latter viewpoint. AKA "where are all the people of other races, and why aren't they here? What's standing in their way?" Versus if you really believe, in your heart of hearts, that one race (white people) are inexplicably superior based on their skin color alone, you are always going to be drawn to the first viewpoint ("How did that Black pilot make it through and get this job?").
For me, it's indicative of the deep wound of racism that still exists in this country today, for some subconsciously, for some very consciously. And yet we're poised to see the end of the voting rights act and more racial gerrymandering, because these people screaming about DEI are the same ones who believe, whether genuinely or disingenuously, that we are in a post-racism world.
It's like looking at the photos of the Democratic Congresspeople and their staff vs. the Republicans and their staff? Why do we see significant diversity in the Democratic staff and not the Republicans? What is the barrier?
Beautiful piece, thank you. I work in commercial real estate - specifically retail real estate. For 20 years I have attended our industry's trade show in Vegas with tens of thousands of attendees. 20 years later, it is still a sea of white men. Did I mention that I work in retail? Our customers are predominantly women. When I meet a new person in the industry who is a woman and/or a person of color, I feel a little hope...my mind never goes to 'oh they must be a DEI hire'. That "context" as the Kirk followers like to try and argue, is still racism.
It saddens me to think that we are losing everything that was fought for during my lifetime.
Very well written article Marie. As we have seen from events unfolding the last month or so, our nations leaders have a white supremacist ideology at the center of their “merit” rationale. Marie correctly points out that when you see white people as the default Americans, every one else is met with at least some level of suspicion while white folks get the benefit of the doubt. I think many folks, uneducated about the language of white supremacy have been pulled into its ideas without understanding that as the ultimate goal. Again, giving the leaders broad benefit of the doubt (Charlie Kirk) while lending deep suspicion to anyone who points out the ideology behind his talking points.
We are living through a time when many people are either rejecting what Americas ideals are or desiring to live in some fantasy of the past.
But the past has this *weird* way of quickly showing us why we abandoned its failed methods😂 (cough cough: blanket tariffs)
Apparently short memories are in vogue, but I’m glad we have articles like this to put on easy-to-read display why believing white Americans are the default, is both racist and unhelpful to our nation that claims to want to be a rich tapestry of people.
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your further reflections.
Thanks, Marie! This was a great article that left me thinking. I had a conversation with my Gran yesterday about race and what she experienced as a white kid in various locations across the US. She moved a lot as a young child because her father was stationed different places during WWII. She lived for a bit in a sundown town, but also experienced larger cities where she remembered seeing the first no blacks served here signs. She was always very unhappy as a kid with the explanations the adults in her life gave her as to why this was true. I think the biggest takeaway for me is her childhood might not have been just yesterday, but segregation ended after my Mom was born. Thinking about how far we've come but also how recently that was as well. It is disconcerting to see Hegseth choosing people who are less qualified simply because they are white. He makes everything look like a choice made on race and politics when he does this (to me).
Amber, thanks for sharing. I love hearing when people pass down wisdom and take the time for those intergenerational conversations. I’m so glad you had that with your Gran — and that you’re drawing connections between what she saw then and what’s happening now.
One thing the quotes from Hegseth and Kirk have in common is the mention of "quotas." I haven't seen this be a part of the counter-conversation. At least as long as I've been in a position to hire people (25+ years), I've never encountered a hiring "quota." All I've ever been asked to hire is someone qualified for the job. Something I'd love to understand is whether quotas actually are or have ever been a thing. Are/were there companies out there saying, "We need our staff to be 60% white, 2o% black, 10% Latino, and 7% Asian, and 3% Other. Be sure you're hiring accordingly."? (I completely made up thise numbers and have no idea if they're rational. Please look at my point, not my "stats." ☺️) If that is not something that is happening, IMO, that argument needs to be made a lot louder and more frequently. Because the only reason someone can get away with arguing that DEI or AA hiring allows under-qualified minorities to get jobs is if quotas are part of the mix. My understanding has always been that DEI/AA simply means you can't let race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation affect your hiring decision. At all. And if that's the case, then the entire "They only got hired because they're Black" argument completely crumbles, which means we need to be yelling, "There's are no quotas!" a lot more loudly.
That’s a great question. I’d agree that strict racial quotas have been rare. More often, DEI policies have focused on ensuring that people of color are represented in the pool of candidates being considered. Critics often interpret that policy as a slippery slope that leads to giving those candidates preferential treatment in pursuit of diversity goals — and they sometimes assume that people of color are being hired or promoted mainly to achieve “firsts.” So when people like Hegseth or Kirk have talked about “quotas,” I believe they’re usually referring to what they claim are unspoken, unofficial quotas.
Great article! This "default American" and really, "default human" are why White people will say, "my children are too young to learn about racism". Our belief that White children should be allowed to remain "innocent" to the harsh realities faced by other races stems from this "default human" thought process. Either all children should remain innocent or no children should remain innocent to the realities of racism.
I will die on the hill that the only people getting jobs because of their race and gender are White men. As a woman, I've always had to prove myself to be better than the men around me. And Black women have to work 10 times as hard to be thought half as capable. It's infuriating!
Thanks for your comment. Yes, those are two perfect examples of the default American idea — not thinking white children should have to know about racism, and prejudice and discrimination in hiring.
Marie this article is so well written and informative as are all of your articles.
Thank you Patricia! I appreciate your support.
Thank you for the courage it took to write and share this! I appreciate it as I continue to learn.
Kandace, thanks for your comment.