RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
RUFFINI: “President Trump is not letting up on his blame of diversity initiatives for the plane crash near Washington, D.C.. Despite no specific evidence, Trump signed new executive orders in the wake of the crash, claiming the event followed, quote, problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden administrations that minimized merit and competence. It orders the FAA and tsa to review hiring decisions and take corrective action as necessary. Joining us now, amisha cross, Democratic strategist and former adviser to the Obama campaign, as well as Brendan Buck, MSNBC political analyst and former press secretary to House Speaker John Boehner. Amisha, I want to talk with you. First, let’s discuss the practical impact. Trump can issue all the executive orders he wants, but what actually can he accomplish when it comes to suppressing these die diversity hiring programs that he seems to so low in his first couple days in office?”

CROSS: “Well, first off, happy first day of Black History Month. No matter how Donald Trump. Tries to erase. The achievements. And accomplishments and. History of black people. We still exist. Beyond that, I. Think that the executive orders serve to do one thing in particular. This is a messaging strategy. From this. President, a messaging. Strategy that I would argue is fairly. Working across many states. We’re seeing colleges and universities roll back their DEI campus relations and services provided to not only students. Of color, but also students. With disabilities. Students who. Are first generation college students. You name it, they. Happen to be affected. Veteran students. As well. We’re watching a lot of the underworld, the funder organizations. That actually give. To institutions that are there to help support low income communities, diverse communities. Every in. Everything from health care to education, access to housing. We’re seeing them fall under the weight of this as well, because the funder community is backing away. We’re seeing time and time again so many of the private sector giants also back away from their DEI pledges. We’re also watching scholarships be be removed. Be. It whether they’re black, Latino, scholarships up to and including work opportunities. We know that in this █country, the only people who have merit are not white males. However, if you let Donald Trump tell it, merit is only found. Excellence is only found in white men, and he is doing his very best. From the highest perch in the world to showcase that he does not want anyone else to be able to reach the American dream. He doesn’t believe in fairness, and at this point, he might as well just put on the white hood, because every black person in this country in particular knows what message this is signaling and knows exactly what he’s doing when he talks, the way he talks, and when he employs these types of regulations.