‘The DEI stuff is offensive’: Former Republican New Jersey mayor credits transphobic ad for Trump’s win
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s disingenuous post-election analysis reveals a startling disconnect between rhetoric and reality in the discourse around DEI initiatives.
In a recent appearance on ABC News’ This Week, Christie praised what he called Trump’s most effective campaign ad: “Kamala Harris is for they/them, and Donald Trump is for us.” The former governor went further, declaring DEI programs “offensive to a large swath of the American people.” This rhetoric ignores a critical reality: Corporate America invests approximately $8 billion annually in DEI efforts, with white women emerging as the primary beneficiaries. The historical data shows white women have gained unprecedented access to education and workplace opportunities through these very initiatives Christie denounces.
When host Jonathan Karl pointed out that “Republicans spent more time talking about it [trans issues],” Christie’s response attempted to shift blame back to Democrats—despite his own extended focus on the topic during the interview. The discussion took an even sharper, weirder turn when Christie aligned himself with Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres’ criticism of the far left. Torres had stated Trump “has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party.”
Torres’ demeaning the “far-left” and being in whatever agreeance with one Chris Christie, of all people, is informative. Torres’ alignment is a signal and signpost that the subtle right-moving centrism of the Democratic Party is working in near-lockstep with what used to be mainstream conservatism.
Christie’s messaging mirrors a broader historical pattern: White women have consistently acted as primary plaintiffs in major Supreme Court cases challenging the very DEI and affirmative action policies that advanced their workplace status. The paradox deepens as Christie weaponizes transgender issues to attack DEI programs that primarily benefited white women in corporate advancement.
This represents a familiar strategy of using cultural wedge issues to dismantle equity programs. Right-wing critics have long framed DEI initiatives as exclusively benefiting minorities despite clear evidence of white women’s gains. Christie’s celebration of Trump’s transphobic ad continues this tradition of misdirection – attacking diversity programs through inflammatory cultural issues while obscuring their actual impact on workplace advancement.
The former governor’s comments don’t just expose political opportunism; they reveal how insidiously effective conservative messaging has convinced white women to oppose programs that advanced their own interests. Even as they have and are currently benefitting, they will be effectively pulling up the ladder for their daughters in the course of denying non-white people, people experiencing poverty, and people in the overarching LGBTQIA+ community. These women have decided denial of the broad “other” is worth the suppression of women on the whole, even white girls’ potential futures. By asymmetrically reframing workplace equity as a cultural battle in a greater war about pronouns and gender identity, Christie’s rhetoric helps dismantle decades of progress while distracting from who stands to lose the most from DEI’s demise.
Even further, Christie’s disingenuity in saying, DEI is “offensive to a large swath of the American people,” isn’t just saying white women, as discussed here. The “large swath” are mostly, likely Trump-voting (though not exclusively) men looking for upend whatever progress women on the whole have made, and if they can roll up everyone and everything under the massive umbrella of DEI to do it, they will.
Christie’s comments represent more than just campaign analysis—they signal a broader attempt to redefine DEI’s purpose and impact. By focusing on gender identity rather than workplace equity, this messaging obscures decades of progress in breaking down institutional barriers. The former governor’s remarks highlight a growing paradox: as DEI programs face increasing political attacks at the workplace and in education (from primary to post-secondary), their largest beneficiary group remains largely silent about their dismantling. This silence threatens to unravel decades of workplace advancement, not just for minorities but for the very demographic these political messages claim to champion.
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