Liberal 'Who Cares?' Dismissiveness About DEI Problems Led to Trump's Victory

Source: Dustin Guastella. "“Who Cares?” Gave Us Trump." April 14, 2026. jacobin.com

The Gist

The author argues that liberals hurt themselves politically by dismissing working-class concerns about diversity programs that mainly help rich people. Instead of listening to criticism, they say 'who cares?' and this attitude helped Trump win because regular voters felt ignored.

Conclusion

The liberal habit of dismissing legitimate criticisms of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs with 'Who cares?' contributed to Trump's electoral victory by alienating working-class voters

Premises

1. DEI programs primarily benefit wealthy elites rather than ordinary people, as shown by billionaire Magic Johnson's company qualifying as 'minority-owned' for lucrative contracts
2. Liberal defenders of DEI dismiss criticisms with 'Who cares?' rather than engaging with substantive concerns about these programs
3. Working-class voters, especially non-college-educated people, oppose DEI programs - with 79% of working-class whites opposing race-based diversity initiatives
4. This dismissive attitude extends beyond DEI to other issues like crime, drug overdoses, and rising prices that affect working people
5. Biden's commitment to selecting a Black woman as VP led to choosing Kamala Harris, who lost the election due to being an 'elite liberal from the citadel of elite liberalism'
6. Political research shows that abandoning race-first diversity schemes would help Democrats win working-class support

Assumptions

• Working-class opposition to DEI programs is based on legitimate concerns about fairness rather than bigotry
• Electoral success requires appealing to working-class voters who oppose current liberal positions
• DEI programs could be reformed or replaced with better policies that actually help ordinary people
• Liberal elites have the power to change their approach but choose not to
• Trump's victory had significant negative consequences that could have been avoided

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