‘The President Has No Idea What He’s Talking About’: Trump Slams The Digital Equity Act as ‘Racist’ and ‘Unconstitutional’

In different unhinged societal media rant, President Donald Trump erstwhile again demonstrated that words truly don’t mean thing anymore. This time, Trump directed his ire astatine a Biden-era programme intended to span the integer divide. On Truth Social, Trump announced his volition to extremity the Digital Equity Act portion labeling it arsenic “racist” and “unconstitutional”.

In 2021, erstwhile president Joe Biden passed the Digital Equity Act arsenic portion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It provided $2.75 cardinal to found 3 national assistance programs administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Per the agency, DEA’s aim is to guarantee that everyone “[has] the skills, technology, and capableness needed to reap the afloat benefits of our integer economy.” Think integer skills and workforce training,  promoting high-speed net entree successful agrarian and tribal areas, and improving accessibility for disabled people.

Per the New York Times, $60 cardinal went to backing states’ and territories’ programs, including successful agrarian areas similar Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, and Kansas. But of course, thing from Biden’s medication can’t continue. On Thursday, Trump wrote that helium and Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, were successful statement astir the DEA. He wrote, “No much woke handouts based connected race! The Digital Equity Program is simply a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway.” He added that helium plans to extremity it “IMMEDIATELY”.

There’s nary request to springiness Trump an ounce of credence anytime helium calls thing racist. You wouldn’t entertain a subordinate of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party telling you what constitutes anti-semitism, right? Or, to echo the words of Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who authored the bill: “As usual, the President has nary thought what he’s talking about.” That being said, it’s inactive important to enactment that the DEA only mentions contention erstwhile when saying that the programme tin screen radical oregon taste minorities. The instrumentality besides has a wide nondiscrimination clause that mentions race, but that’s taken from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 so… Go beef with that.

In her statement, Murray added, “It’s perfectly insane that resources meant to assistance reddish and bluish communities — everyone from section schoolhouse districts and libraries to workforce grooming programs and Tribes — adjacent the integer disagreement volition beryllium illegally blocked due to the fact that the President doesn’t similar the connection equity. Americans are sick and bushed of extremist right-wing civilization wars being forced down our throats.”

The integer disagreement includes not lone the quality to entree devices oregon the net but besides a deficiency of skills to navigate them, mediocre infrastructure, etc. As much of our satellite moves online with tele-health appointments, integer applications for jobs oregon benefits, online schooling similar during the pandemic, and etc, it’s a pressing issue. But since DEA is truthful young, it hasn’t had a accidental to bash overmuch of thing yet. In fact, a chunk of backing announced connected Jan. 6 and Jan. 17 of this twelvemonth has yet to beryllium distributed, and the Trump medication froze funding successful April.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance was 1 radical impacted by the freeze. In a statement, NDIA said that retired of its subgrantees’ 13 programs waiting for funding, 1 would person served implicit 30,000 successful the adjacent 5 years alone. It added, “Now, a Truth Social station has enactment ours and 65+ different community-based integer spot inclusion programs astatine risk, and existent radical are astir to wage the price.”

“This determination has nary argumentation rationale and makes nary economical sense,” the NDIA continued. “Cutting this backing volition deepen the disagreement and unit greater costs down the road.”

It’s not wide if Trump has taken immoderate factual steps to extremity the DEA extracurricular of posting connected societal media. But arsenic with his administration’s galore different attempts to frost national funding, Trump’s determination could beryllium taken up successful tribunal if helium makes immoderate further moves.